Srinagar: Hurriyat Conference (M) chairperson Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday criticised the authorities for what he said depriving people of the basic amenities in biting cold.

He said that frequent cordon-and-search-operations (CASOs) were a collective punishment.

Addressing a Friday gathering at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, Mirwaiz said: “It is painful to see people of Kashmir being deprived of basic amenities at a time when they need it the most.”

“There is an acute shortage of drinking water while as electricity plays hide and seek leaving people in tremendous hardships as mercury plunges to nearly minus eight degree Celsius,” he said.

Instead of going forward, he said, Kashmir was going backwards, “despite the tall claims of development of all the pro-India politicians who ruled the state so far.”

Condemning the frequent CASOs in south Kashmir, Mirwaiz said: “This is the collective punishment inflicted on the people in the winter months that deserves all condemnation.”