Millions of kids traumatised as Kashmir lockdown continues

Sporting a blue T-shirt and faded jeans, Tabish (10), a class IV student, is busy in playing cricket along with his school pals in an alleyway in Baramulla's old town, some 60 kms north of Srinagar.

The team of eight teenage boys play cricket well-nigh for 7 hours every day. They start their ‘innings’ at around half past ten in the morning and play till sundown, barring a few hours of lunch and tea break.

“It is all play and no work for these kids in current situation,” says 27-old- Bilal Ahmad, a local resident.

As the schools in the Valley remain shut, most children in Kashmir kill their time playing various sports, watching toons, painting or just visiting nearby relatives' houses.

Academic activities in the Valley remain suspended since August 5, when the ruling dispensation in New Delhi did away with the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and stripped the conflict-ridden region of statehood.

Although the Governor-run administration announced reopening of educational institutes on August 16, students have not been able to attend schools amidst the lockdown and restrictions.

“It is not possible for children to reach their schools in the absence of public transport. School vans cannot ply on roads due to the restrictions and lockdown,” says Ahmad.

“Parents cannot allow their children to attend school when things could spiral out of control anytime. It is an uneasy clam that you see out there, which can shatter any time. Parents can't put the life of their children on the line,” he adds.

According to Ahmad, his own 8-year-old kid spent all his time making paper boats and caps besides watching cartoon shows on television all the time.

“The children have turned into couch potatoes,” Ahmad says, gesturing towards a TV set installed in one of the uncluttered rooms in his house.

In the downtown pockets of Srinagar city where the restrictions are more stringent, children are not even able to venture out of their homes, staying indoors painting or playing with their old toys.

“I am making buildings out of my old blocks and also paint with crayon on card boards and papers,” said 11-year-old Khatija who lives in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar.

Khatija, however, repeatedly asked about the re-opening of her school.

The girl’s father, who did not wish to be named, said that she mostly painted streets bereft of people, dotted with armed forces and closed schools.

In the far-off villages of south Kashmir, children are spending their time by visiting their relatives and playing in the streets.

A knot of children who were playing with marbles at a dusty village in Shopian district's Imamasahab area said, “Our schools are shut and this is how we spend our time.”

An official, however, claimed that school attendance was picking up slowly and students had begun showing up at the schools.