‘Study Without Internet?’ NIT Srinagar Reopens After 74 Days Today But Students Prefer To ‘Wait and Watch’ news18.com
Seventy-four days after students were evacuated from the campus of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar – as the government in August downgraded Jammu and Kashmir’s semi-autonomy and imposed a security and communications lockdown – the session at the prestigious campus is all set to restart Tuesday.
The announcement, made by the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry last month, was later sent to all students as a circular and was also uploaded on the NIT Srinagar website.
While the residents were relieved Monday after the long communications embargo was relaxed with the government resuming postpaid cellphone services in the region, many students from outside the Valley fear that the worst of the security threat still may not be over. They have decided to wait and watch, choosing not to rejoin college immediately.
Afreen, 19, is a second-year engineering student who currently lives with her relatives in New Delhi. She is waiting for a word from her father in Srinagar. “My father works in Kashmir and he had to go back to work last week. I was waiting for him to call and tell me what the situation is like before I book my tickets. I did manage to speak to him, but we are still not convinced that everything is completely safe,” she says. “I will wait for another week. Then I will see if I should book my tickets or not.”
Tensions have escalated in Kashmir since New Delhi’s surprise decision to abrogate Article 370, followed by the move of sending in tens of thousands of extra troops, detaining thousands of people and blocking cellphone and internet services.
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