J&K cable operators want ban lifted

Srinagar: In a rare display of courage, cable TV operators staged a peaceful march in Srinagar on Saturday to appeal to militant groups to reconsider their ban on beaming of all satellite channels in the Kashmir Valley.

Nearly 500 cable operators marched from Iqbal Park in the heart of the city, shouting slogans like, "Please lift the ban on cable transmission", "Don't snatch our livelihood" and "Don't punish us for the evil deeds of others".

Following a threat of suicide attacks by four militant groups - Jaish-e-Mohammed, Al-Badr, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and

Al-Madina Regiment - the cable operators suspended their operations across the valley on Friday.

The threat came in the wake of a sex racket in the city in which several top politicians, police officers and businessmen are allegedly involved.

The militant groups said the wide penetration of cable TV was responsbile for the moral degradation of Kashmiri society.

Four more militant outfits - Al Nasireen, Al Arifeen, Farzandan-e-Millat and Save Kashmir Movement - on Saturday came out in support of the ban, describing it as a timely step to thwart a "conspiracy" aimed at destroying the social fabric of Jammu and Kashmir.

Cable TV operations across the Kashmir Valley have been intermittently affected since Wednesday, when the Al-Madina Regiment imposed a ban on the airing of satellite channels.

Cable operators are flashing a message on their networks since Friday - "Please bear with us. You will not be able to access any channels as services have been discontinued till further update."

The only channels that can now be viewed by the residents of Kashmir Valley are DD National, DD Kashir and DD Kendra

Srinagar.

The operators had briefly resumed transmissions on Thursday following statements against the ban by various separatist and militant organisations, particularly the Hizbul Mujahideen.

"We resumed the operations temporarily following statements from various organisations that termed the ban on cable TV as unnecessary and uncalled for," a cable operator said.

While the Hizbul Mujahideen and the hardline faction of the Hurriyat headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani had on Wednesday asked the little-known Al-Madina Regiment to reconsider its ban, the radical Dukhtaran-e-Millat termed the issue a "conspiracy" by the government to divert the people's attention from the sex racket that has triggered widespread protests across the Kashmir Valley.