Srinagar: Jammu seems to be going the Kashmir way as authorities celebrate the success of the enforced silence in the Valley.

Life was paralysed by a shutdown in Jammu on Saturday against the alleged anti-people policies of the government run by lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha, the latest in a series of such protests observed by the region after the 2019 scrapping of special status.

These shutdowns are adding a new worry to the administration, already battling a surge in militancy in Jammu after decades of relative calm.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in the Hindu-majority districts of Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua on Saturday. The region has witnessed many protests in the past week.

The National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party and other Opposition parties supported the strike.

Jammu, seen as a BJP bastion, has emerged as an unlikely trouble spot for the government despite its Hindu majority, called Dogras, cheering the scrapping of the erstwhile state’s special status. Dogras have been at the forefront of multiple protests that have rocked the region since 2019 as they fear an onslaught by outsiders.

The latest protests are against the installation of smart metres and a toll plaza in Samba. Slogans like “LG go back” and “BJP murdabad” have been raised at multiple places since the latest round of protests began on Monday. Over the past three days since the shutdown, protests have continued across Jammu.

Ajit Singh, chairman of the All J&K Transport Welfare Association, has issued an ultimatum to the government to remove the toll plaza at Sarore in Samba or face an indefinite shutdown from August 31.

Saturday’s protests were spearheaded by Jammu’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries and the High Court Bar Association, whose leaders have supported the BJP in the past.