July 13 was a public holiday in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and a grand official function was held every year on this day where the chief minister or the governor would be the chief guest.
However, the administration dropped the day from the list of gazetted holidays in 2020, after the abrogation of Article 370 and splitting of the erstwhile state into two union territories by the Centre on August 5, 2019.
No function was held at the Martyrs’ graveyard in the city while no holiday was observed for the third time on Wednesday, the officials said.
Apart from the official function at the Martyrs’ graveyard, mainstream political leaders also used to visit it to pay homage to the 22 Kashmiris who fell to the bullets of the Dogra army while protesting the autocratic rule of Maharaja Hari Singh.
However, the officials said, this year no mainstream political leader visited the graveyard. They added that there were no restrictions on the movement of people.
However, the National Conference said it had applied to the Srinagar district magistrate for permission to visit the graveyard for paying tributes to the martyrs of 1931 but it was not allowed.
