Train service between Srinagar, Banihal remains suspended for 2nd day today

Srinagar, Jul 31  The train service between Srinagar and Banihal in Jammu region remained suspended for the second day today for security reasons following killing of two Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) local militants in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district yesterday. However, train service on Srinagar-Badgam in the central Kashmir to Baramulla in north was running as per schedule, a railway official told . He said all trains running on Srinagar -Pulwama, Anantnag and Qazigund in south Kashmir to Banihal in Jammu region remained suspended. The decision to suspend the train service was taken on the advice of local authorities and police in view of apprehension of violence. Two local militants were killed in a fierce encounter in Pulwama yesterday, triggering massive clashes between protestors and security forces in the south Kashmir district. Over a dozen youth were injured in the clashes. In the past, railway property has suffered massive damage during protests in the valley, where the train services remained suspended for about six months during summer unrest last year. However, people shuttling daily between north to south via Srinagar or vice versa prefer train service which is being considered most dependable, cheap and safe mode of transport in the Kashmir valley, where frequent traffic jam is a daily routine. UNI