Strike cripples life in Srinagar; situation near normal in north Kashmir

Srinagar, Oct 13: Life remained crippled for second day on Saturday in summer capital Srinagar as third phase of polling was underway for Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant was killed by security forces in an encounter in Pulwama district of south Kashmir this morning.

Life was near normal in north Kashmir, where a general strike was observed yesterday on a separatist call against the killing of two HM militants, including PhD scholar Manan Wani who had joined the outfit in January this year.

Shops and business establishments remained closed and traffic was off the roads in Srinagar due to strike called by Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) in municipal wards, spread over three assembly segments of Khanyar, Eidgah in down town and Amira Kadal in civil lines and uptown, where polling was held today.

Educational institutions also remained closed and work in government offices was affected as employees outside the poll bound areas also could not make it to their offices due to non-availability of transport. Though there were no restriction in any part of the city, the historic Jamia Masjid remained closed for devotees.

Business and other activities remained crippled in south Kashmir, where a HM militant Sabir Ahmad Dar was killed by security forces in an encounter in Pulwama today.

Authorities imposed restrictions in Pulwama while elsewhere in the south Kashmir people observed spontaneous strike for the second day. Yesterday JRL had called for strike in the valley against killing of two HM militants in an encounter in Kupwara.