SRINAGAR, Aug 25: The flag of Jammu & Kashmir which used to fly along with the tricolour was removed from the civil secretariat here in Kashmir on Sunday, three weeks after the Centre revoked Article 370 provisions which granted special status to the state, officials said.
Under Article 370, Jammu & Kashmir was permitted to have its own flag, which was red in colour with three equidistant white vertical strips and a white plough.
The flag, which was hoisted along with the tricolour every day atop the civil secretariat, the seat of the government, was supposed to be removed on 31 October when the law bifurcating Jammu & Kashmir into two union territories – Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh – will come into effect.
However, on Sunday morning, only the tricolour was hoisted on the secretariat building, the officials said.
They said the flag will be removed from other government buildings as well.
The flag had been adopted by the state constituent assembly on 7 June, 1952. The three stripes represented the state’s three regions of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.
The Centre had on 5 August abrogated Article 370 provisions in the constitution which granted special status to Jammu & Kashmir for residency and government jobs. The parliament approved the resolution in this regard and also passed the bill on the bifurcation of the state into two UTs.
Later, on 9 August, President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the two UTs, which will come into existence on 31 October.
Since 5 August, various parts of the Kashmir valley are under strict restrictions. (PTI)
