Violent Environmental Protests in India

ANCHOR:
More than 40 people including 17 policemen and seven paramilitary personnel are injured during a violent protest in Srinagar. The demonstration was in protest against forestland development.

STORY: 
Kashmiri youth take to the streets, throwing stones on policemen and chanting anti-government slogans. They're protesting the transfer of forest land to the religious board that will use it to build shelter for traveling pilgrims.
Agitators block roads by burning tyres and damaging police vehicles. It's then that police resort to firing teargas to disperse the protestors.
Seven paramilitary personnel and 17 local policemen have been injured during the clash.
The protests have snowballed as the state has witnessed a number of protests and shutdown in the past few days in Srinagar and other towns in Indian Kashmir.
[Shabir Ahmad, Protester]:
"This is an indefinite protest. We don't know how long will it continue. It has been called to protest against the transfer of land to the
shrine board."
Authorities last week say nearly 100 acres of forestland in southern Kashmir is being transferred to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The land is to create temporary housing for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who annually trek to the Hindu cave shrine Amarnath.
The protest has been called by Kashmiri separatists who strongly oppose the land transfer. They say the fragile ecology of the mountainous region will be ruined by building the "permanent" structures.
During the two-month-long pilgrimage, tens of thousands of devout Hindus trek to the cave, situated at an altitude of 3,800 meters, to pray by an ice stalagmite they believe to be a symbol of Hindu god Lord Shiva.
The pilgrimage has been targeted several times by separatist militants.
Around 250,000 Hindus fled the Kashmir valley after a separatist Muslim rebellion broke out in 1989. Only about 10,000 Hindus remain after years of violent insurgency in India's only Muslim-majority region.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• environment
• protest
• india
• injuries
• violence
• srinagar
• demonstration
• forestland
• development

[shaziakhan1986]

you kashmiri muslims get 500 crore plus haj subsidy for free travel from plane from our tax money.Then every indian should protest against kashmiris

[TheAamBhartiya]

"Divide and Rule". And we all thought this policy was over with the end of British Rule. Wake up people. There is only 1 creator. If there were multiple creators, the world would have been created different by each creator.

Building structures for Hindus without involving the local public is "Divide and Rule" policy. Locals have every right into every decision, be it a decision on building religious structures, or hospitals and schools.

Congress, BJP and all, stop destroying our country.

[bandayjavaid]

before making comments you must know that the people of kashmir are not peace brokers.and we know what to do in hard times .you people have pelted petrol bombs to kill innocent drivers which in turn carrry essential goods. we also know how to kill you but we showed maximum restraint while protesting for our legal demands. hope u will understand the present situation and shun the antikashmiri approach.

[rkrc]

those you challenge Lord Shiva... no one can save them but Lord Shiva. Maybe one day they will realize that we are more their brothers than those people in pakistan

[rkrc]

... i'm from kashmir. are you being serious? what you are talking of was over 20 years ago. now pakistan has brainwashed the Kashmiri muslims to see them as brothers when in fact we hindu Kashmiris are their real brothers.

[chaarlog]

Kashmir is the only place in the world where locals(Muslims) carry pilgrims(Hindus) on their shoulders to the shrine.

Indian channels should interview few of the 5 Lakh pilgrims. All they would have for Kashmiries would be nothing but appreciation.

[chaarlog]

People...

Apparently, not even a single slogan against Amarnath Yatra, Shrine Board, Hindus and even BJP has been shouted. All you could hear was

"Hum kya Chahte??"

(What do we want?)

Aazaadi

(Independence..)

Kashmiries are not communal.Kashmir is the best world example of communal harmony. Pakistan tried to break this in 1992 but they couldn't succeed.

[adnanbhat]

true zubair...thats what these ppl never understand..they have a dirty mind...n they are those elements who make conditions worse...

[zubairregoo]

U all tried to make the situation worse. As kashmiri i knw better than everyone who does not belong here.kashmiris were never against the Yatra or any Hindu. what they are against is Innocent Killing of youths. It might b quite a good fun for you people to comment and fight by posting these pathetic comments on Religon. Everyone knows that NO hindu has been targeted in kashmir, but in Jammu half a dozen muslims have been attached with petrol bombs.JISKA KOI APNA MARTA HAINA, SIRF WOHI JAANTA HAI

[MAHALAYAM]

kashmir is not a pilgrim place it's only violence.