Two weeks after the violent September 24 statehood protests in Leh, parts of the city are struggling to return to normalcy. Footfall has shrunk in commercial areas, and vendors complain that business is down. 

This is despite the restrictions on movement being gradually relaxed since September 27, the reopening of schools and colleges, and internet services being restored on Thursday.

A curfew was imposed and the police and paramilitary forces were deployed in the city on September 24. This came after four people were killed and 15 seriously injured in a protest that turned violent during a shutdown called by the Leh Apex Body – a coalition of socio-political groups pressing for statehood and Sixth Schedule protections for the Union Territory. Close to 70 people were detained following the protest, including prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk. 

The Ladakh administration had on Thursday

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