Article 35-A: Life comes to grinding halt due to strike in Kashmir

Srinagar: Life came to a grinding halt as shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the road in Kashmir Valley due to two-day strike called by separatists from Thursday to protest against alleged attempts being made to abrogate Article 35-A.

Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in downtown and parts of civil lines in the summer capital, Srinagar as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incident following a two-day strike called by separatists.

Shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the road in civil lines and uptown Srinagar, where roadside vendors were also missing. However, few private vehicles could be seen plying on some routes in the city. 

Business and other activities remained 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 bullet proof jackets and holding weapons and lathis in their hands, were seen patrolling the streets in the city to prevent any untoward incident.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Maluvi Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, had called for a two-day strike from August 30 to protest against an alleged 'politically-motivated move' to abrogate Article 35-A.

Members from various trade and industry bodies on Wednesday staged a sit-in protest at historic Lal Chowk in this summer capital, against the alleged attempts being made to abrogate Article 35-A. As many as 27 Kashmir-based trade and industry bodies, including the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI), have backed the separatist strike call. 

The strike and protests come after the Supreme Court (SC) decided to hear on August 31, the petitions challenging the validity of Article 35-A, which empowers the Jammu and Kashmir state's legislature to define 'permanent residents' of the state. The Article provides special rights and privileges to the permanent residents.

A report from Anantnag said life was 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. Additional security forces have been deployed in entire south Kashmir, including Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian, to prevent any law and order problem. Security has also been stepped up along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway to prevent any protests.        

Life came to a 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 were deployed in major towns and tehsil headquarters to stop protests, said a report from north Kashmir, where business and other activities were crippled and traffic was off the roads in support of the strike.(UNI)