14 min readJammu, SrinagarAug 8, 2026 07:16 AM IST First published on: Aug 8, 2026 at 07:16 AM IST A brick kiln in Kashmir’s Budgam. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)AS HIS motorcycle approaches the narrow lane that leads to his rented room in Alamgari Bazar, downtown Srinagar, Mohammad Manzoor slows down. The road is lined with police and paramilitary personnel conducting routine checks. Manzoor reaches for the helmet hanging from his bike and straps it on. He doesn’t want to be noticed.It’s well past 8.30 pm and Manzoor, a mason from Bihar, shouldn’t have been out on the streets at this hour. “Police have issued strict instructions that none of us non-local workers should be out after 7 pm,” he says. “If they find us on the road, they scold and ask us to hurry home. But what can I do? Construction work often finishes late, and by the time I leave the site, it is dark.”