August 06, 2008	Wednesday	Sha’aban 3, 1429

SRINAGAR: Kashmir valley is running short of food, fuel and medical supplies after Hindu protesters stopped transport along the disputed region’s major highway in the latest protests over a land row.

Hindus in occupied Kashmir’s winter capital of Jammu, protesting against the authorities for backing down on transferring forest land to a Hindu shrine trust, have attacked lorries carrying essential supplies to the valley.

Trader associations said lorries loaded with vital goods like medicines, vegetables, meat and fuel were stranded on the region’s main 300-km highway, the only surface link between the valley and the rest of India.

The government has said supplies should soon be moving to Srinagar. “All measures have been initiated at all levels to ensure uninterrupted movement of such trucks,” said Anil Goswami, a senior government official in Delhi.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989 in violence involving Indian troops and Muslim militants in the scenic region.—Reuters