PM Modi also acknowledged the problems faced by the people amid the lockdown (File)

Amid a lockdown in Jammu and Kashmir following the centre's move to end special status to the state, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the government would ensure that people don't face any problem in celebrating Eid next week.

"The government is ensuring that people in Jammu and Kashmir don't face any problem in celebrating Eid," PM Modi said in an address to the nation.

"The government is providing every possible help to our friends who live outside Jammu and Kashmir and want to go back," he added.

The mobile and internet connections were suspended as a precautionary measure before the central government scrapped provisions of Article 370 that gave the special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The people of the state living in other parts of the country were not being able to contact their families.

PM Modi also acknowledged the problems faced by the people amid the lockdown.

"The freedom from Article 370 is a reality. But another reality is that people have faced problems due to the precautionary measures (taken by the government). They are facing that too," he added.

In an address to the nation today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi justified the withdrawal of the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir through Article 370 and said that the move will "liberate" the people of the region and bring them closer to the rest of the country.

He also said that the state will not remain a Union Territory for long.

"This was a step taken after a lot of thought... we won't need to continue UT status for very long," he said.

Apart from ending the special status, the centre also bifurcated the state into two Union territories-- Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The centre's decisions were met with vociferous opposition from the Congress, which slammed it for taking a unilateral decision without consulting stakeholders.