An indefinite security lockdown was in place in the Indian-controlled portion of divided Kashmir on Monday, stranding millions in their homes as authorities also suspended some internet services and deployed thousands of fresh troops around the increasingly tense region, Associated Press writes.
Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Cabinet meeting at his residence in New Delhi amid speculation that the government could announce changes to how the Himalayan territory is administered.
Around midnight in Kashmir, government forces laid steel barricades and razor wire on roads and intersections to cut off neighborhoods in Srinagar, the region’s main city. The government issued a security order banning public meetings, rallies and movement and said schools would be closed.
Authorities also suspended internet services on cellphones, a common tactic to prevent anti-India demonstrations from being organized and to stop the dissemination of news.
The order affects about 7 million people living in the region.
The security deployment in recent days adds at least 10,000 soldiers and other forces in Kashmir, to what was already one of the world’s most militarized regions. India also has ordered thousands of tourists and Hindu pilgrims to leave the region.
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