Hurriyat calls Kashmir Valley shutdown over new Yatra

The strike call was given by senior Hurriyat Leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani and supported by other Hurriyat amalgam leaders. Geelani has appealed to people to observe shutdown against the 'new Yatra' which he considers "a threat to the majority people of Kashmir".

Shops and business establishments are closed while traffic is off the roads while meek private transport is plying in civil line areas of Srinagar.

Reports also said authorities impose strict restriction in the old city of Srinagar to thwart any protest called by Hurriyat leaders.

Pertinently, Hindu groups are planning religious pilgrimage at many glacial tourist places of Kashmir. The experts have warned against such moves saying the intervention would disturb ecological set up .

Moreover, experts and the majority political players are of the opinion that the glacial water bodies are only tourist spots and don't have any religious significance.

Authorities Friday termed the reports baseless that they had given permission to the 'All Pandit Migrants Coordination Committee' (APMCC) for a fresh yatra to the Pir Panjal glacial lake Kousar Nag from southern Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Chairman APMCC Vinod Pandit castigated authorities for cancelling the permission for the yatra from South Kashmir. He said that the DC Kulgam had issued a formal order granting permission to the organization to conduct pilgrimage from South Kashmir route.

"DC Kulgam is backtracking because he is feeling the pressure of the 'communal elements'," Pandit said.

(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)