J-K administration appeals for calm, urges people not pay heed to rumours

The Jammu and Kashmir administration Sunday appealed to the people of the state to stay calm and not pay heed to rumours.

The statement comes a day after tension mounted in Kashmir as the government launched a massive crackdown on separatists and detained over 150 people, mainly from the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir, ahead of a hearing in the Supreme Court on Article 35-A of the Constitution.

The development, coupled with other administrative measures, triggered a "war hysteria", prompting people in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir to stock up on groceries and essentials and buy petrol for their vehicles.

"During the past few days several rumours are in circulation and panic messages are being disseminated. We urge people not to pay heed to rumours and get panicky on the basis of unsubstantiated and exaggerated pieces of information which are in circulation" Rohit Kansal, senior bureaucrat who has been designated as the chief spokesperson of the governor's administration, told ...