CURSED NUMBERS

Focus on particular registration numbers during routine wayside searches by the security grid has impacted the resale value of some vehicles, reports Umar Mukhtar

- Umar Mukhtar

Every evening Manzoor Ahmad, 45, a resident of Shopian leaves office early by almost half an hour. “I want to cross all the checkpoints in daylight,” Ahmad, an employee of handicrafts department at Srinagar, said. “Driving after dusk can be dangerous.”

En-route home, Ahmad is stopped almost at half a dozen spots by the police and the army for checking. They let him go only after a thorough search. “At every stop, my seats, dashboard and backside of the car is checked.” This almost adds half an hour extra to his daily journey.

Ahmad has taken a new car just eight months back to ensure he reaches home every evening especially because of his newborn and unwell mother. “I was very happy when I got the new car,” Ahmad said. It had a flipside as well. Every time he is stopped, the searchlight falls on his number plate: JK 22. It is the registration district code for Shopian.

Ahmad is now so frustrated by the daily checking that he wants to sell off his car. “Sometimes the soldiers at the nakka are rude, they even abuse,” he said. “It humiliates.”

Javaid Bazaz, 29, a resident of Pulwama is a Ph.D. scholar at the University of Kashmir. He drives down to the campus daily. He is also stopped at every checkpoint because of his number plate: JK 13.