Workers paint a red cross symbol over the roof of a hospital as a preventive measure amid the ongoing border tensions, in Srinagar on May 7, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Imran Nissar

The Kashmir Valley remained calm but on the edge on Wednesday (May 7, 2025) after ‘Operation Sindoor’. Several educational institutes were closed in the border districts and Srinagar airport was shut for civilian traffic “as a precautionary measure”. Hospitals in Srinagar have marked their buildings with a red cross.

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Traffic was thin in Srinagar despite it being a weekday. Though schools and colleges in the Kashmir Valley are open most parents kept their wards at home. Only institutions along the border and airport are closed.

People have been tracking news on mobile phones since the wee hours and there is a palpable sense of fear among Valley residents.

“We pray the situation does not spiral out of hand. It’s Kashmir that always pays the cost of a war. Let sanity prevail and peace follow,” Nazeer Ahmad, 47, a shopkeeper in the old city, said. Locals were also seen stockpiling eatables, buying medicines and filling cars with fuel. Kashmir University has postponed all examinations scheduled for this week.

Also read | Amit Shah asks border States to stock up on essential goods

Let peace prevail

“All examinations of the University of Kashmir scheduled to be held up to and including May 10 stand postponed. Fresh dates for the postponed papers shall be notified separately,” a statement of the KU said.

According to the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, all schools, colleges and educational institutions in Baramulla, Kupwara and Gurez will remain closed tomorrow (May 08). “The schools around Awantipora and Srinagar Airport shall also remain closed tomorrow. The directive is issued as a precautionary measure,” an official order said.

Meanwhile, the authorities have established a 24×7 joint control room in Srinagar. “The Joint Control Room shall operate round-the-clock (24×7) and will serve as a centralised hub to facilitate interdepartmental coordination, monitor ongoing developments, and ensure timely dissemination of information,” officials said.

Meanwhile, the J&K government has directed that “no leave is to be sanctioned (government officials) except in exceptional cases.”