Business activities remain affected in Srinagar civil lines

Srinagar, Feb 23: Business and other activities remained affected in the civil lines in summer capital, Srinagar, including Lal Chowk for the third day on Saturday, when traders closed their shops in protest against attack on Kashmiri students and others in different parts of the country after Pulwama attack by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) that left over 44 CRPF personnel dead on February 14.

However, immediately after news spread about the arrest of separatist Mohammad Yaseen Malik by police on Thursday night, business and other activities came to a halt in the civil lines. Shops and business establishments which reopened this morning were closed again.

A complete shutdown was observed in Maisuma, stronghold of Malik, Haji Masjid, Gaw Kadal, Madena Chowk, Budshah Chowk, Koker Bazar, Court Road, Regal Chowk, Moulana Azad road, Residency road and Amira Kadal. A number of shops which reopened this morning in Lal Chowk and Gantaghar area also closed down their shutters. The Makkah market in the heart city wore a deserted look. Hundreds of vendors are putting up their stalls in the market. However, traffic was plying on all routes normally.

Earlier, in the morning, a resident from Haryana Deepak Sharma, who identified himself as Akali Dal worker, was detained in Lal Chowk area when he tried to hoist a Tricolour.

Situation elsewhere in the city and outskirts was tense after nightlong crackdown on separatists, particularly Hurriyat Conference (HC) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) leaders and workers.