A cinema each opened at Baramulla and Handwara in Kashmir on 15th July, putting an end to a no-cinema era of 33 years. LG Manoj Sinha did the honours for both the 100-seater cinemas in the twin North Kashmir towns. The inauguration was part of a continuous drive by the Sinha-led UT administration to reopen cinemas which had shut down due to terrorism in the Jammu & Kashmir region over the past more than three decades.
Last year, Sinha inaugurated cinema halls in Shopian and Pulwama. A multiplex came up in Srinagar also. In a bid to make life as normal as possible in the aftermath of the August 2019 abrogation of J & K’s special status, the LG wants to set up a cinema in every district. Both the newly-opened cinemas will start screening soon with Pathaan.
The cinema halls in the region are being built under the public-private partnership scheme.