Jammu, July 2 : The Jammu district administration extended curfew to the entire Jammu region on Wednesday, following large scale protests and violence against the cancellation of the land allotment order to the Sri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

All schools and colleges have been shut for the day, but essential services were exempted from curfew.

The curfew was imposed on Tuesday afternoon in areas falling under three police stations of Muthi, Bakshi Nagar and Rehari.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called for nationwide shutdown on Thursday. Calling the revocation of land to Amarnath Shrine Board as a 'non-secular' move, BJP president Rajnath Singh urged the state government to re-allot the land to Shrine Board.

Srinagar, July 1 : The ongoing protests in various parts of the Jammu and Kashmir have left many pilgrims stranded in the valley.

The pilgrims are blaming the government authorities for poor

A large number of pilgrims are fuming with anger here over the government authorities’ poor transport and accommodation arrangements.

The pilgrims, returning from the revered Amarnath shrine are desperate to return homes at the earliest.

Srinagar, July 1 : As various political groups are busy fanning communal passions through protests and violence in Jammu and Kashmir state over 100 acre forest land transfer issue, scores of Muslims are holding Langar (free community kitchen) for the stranded Amaranath pilgrims here.

Thousands of pilgrims, who either have returned from the holy cave Amarnath or were on their way to the cave, were stranded in Srinagar due to the continuous violent protests.

The fraternal gesture by members of the Muslim community here is setting an example of how general public feels for each other especially during crisis irrespective of each other’s religious faith in the Kashmir valley.

Srinagar, July 1: The Jammu and Kashmir cabinet will meet here today to discuss on the order to hand over 39.88 hectares of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB).

According to sources, the meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The meeting will be held without People's Democratic Party (PDP) Ministers, who resigned to protest over the proposed land transfer to the shrine board.

The cabinet will also decide on the allocation of portfolios vacated by PDP Ministers.

Srinagar, June 30 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad today said that he is ready to prove the majority of his government at anytime in the State Assembly.

Yesterday, he informed Governor N N Vohra about the majority he enjoyed on the floor of the house, despite the 18-member People’s Democratic Party (PDP) withdrawing its support to the Congress- led Government on Saturday over the transfer of forestland to the Amarnath Shrine Board.

The Congress has 21 members in the 87-seat assembly and is backed by two CPM MLAs and eight Independents.

The term of the State Government expires on November two.

Azad is hopeful that his government will last its full term.

Jammu, June 30: A fresh batch of 3,531 pilgrims left for the Amarnath cave shrine here today, a day after it was suspended due to bad weather.

According to official sources, the devotees, including 619 women, 70 children, left from the base camp at Bhagwati Nagar at around 5:30 a. m.

The pilgrimage was suspended on Sunday following torrential rains on the shrine route.

With today's batch, as many as 27,062 pilgrims have left Jammu for the shrine.

So far, 30,593 pilgrims, have left the Jammu base camp for the shrine. The pilgrimage ends on August 16.

Security forces have been on a high alert along the entire pilgrimage route to ensure the safety of the pilgrims.