Separatists' strike hit normal life in Kashmir

Curfew-like restrictions were imposed since Tuesday morning in areas under the jurisdiction of five police stations of Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari, Safa Kadal and M R Gunj in downtown and Shehar-e-Khas (SeK), Srinagar to prevent demonstration.

Work in government offices and banks was also affected due to strike in the valley, where educational institutions were again closed on Tuesday. Most educational institutes in the Valley reopened on Monday after remained shut for five days.

Shops and business establishments remained closed in restriction-free areas in Srinagar though good number of private vehicles, besides cabs and three-wheelers, could be seen plying on some routes, particularly in civil lines. Roadside vendors, selling fruits and vegetables, have setup their stalls, mostly in uptown, where some shops are open in certain areas.

Business and other activities were crippled in main business hubs of the city, including historic Lal Chowk, the nerve-centre of summer capital, Budshah Chowk, Regal Chowk, Maisuma, Hari Singh High Street (HSHS), Batmaloo, Moulana Azad Road, Residency Road and Dalgate.

Additional security forces, wearing bulletproof jackets and holding weapons and lathis in their hands, were seen patrolling the streets in the city to prevent any untoward incident.

Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) -- comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq and Mohammad Yaseen Malik – has called for a day-long strike on the death anniversaries of Mirwai Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.

The Mirwaiz, father of chairman of moderate Hurriyat Conference (HC) Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen on this day in 1990 in his Nigeen house. Peoples Conference (PC), a constituent of separatist HC chairman Abdul Gani Lone, was killed in 2002 by gunmen when he was about to leave for home after paying tributes to Mirwaiz at Eidgh in the down town on this day.

Life also came to a grinding halt in central Kashmir districts of Budgam and Ganderbal in support of the strike called by separatists.

Hundreds of security forces and state police personnel remained deployed in major towns and tehsil headquarters to stop protests, said a report from north Kashmir, where business and other activities remained crippled and traffic was off the roads in support of the strike.

A report from Anantnag said life remained crippled in this and other south Kashmir towns and tehsil headquarters, where shops were closed and traffic was off the road in support of the strike. However, some inter-district cabs were plying though Srinagar-Jammu national highway, where security forces remained deployed in strength to maintain law and order.

Additional security forces have been deployed in entire south Kashmir, including Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian, to prevent any law and order problem.