Separatists’ strike hits life on polling day in Kashmir

Normal life was affected in Kashmir Valley on Wednesday due to a strike called by separatists against urban local bodies elections in the state. Voting for the second of the four-phased elections was underway in the Valley. It began at 6 am and ended at 4 pm.

Normal life was affected in poll-bound areas in Kashmir Valley on Wednesday due to a strike called by separatists against urban local bodies elections in the state. Voting for the second of the four-phased elections was underway in the Valley. It began at 6 am and ended at 4 pm.

People stand in queue to cast their vote in Inderkoot, Bandipora district. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)

Shops, fuel stations and other business establishments were shut in the poll-bound areas of the Valley, officials said, adding some other areas of the city also observed a spontaneous shutdown as shops remained closed.

Authorities have reduced the mobile internet speeds across the Valley as a precautionary measure, they said.

The officials said public transport was off roads in the poll-bound areas but plying normally in the rest of the Valley.

The government has declared a holiday in the poll-bound areas. The separatists — under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) — on Tuesday asked people in the region to observe a strike.

“In the poll-bound areas in the second phase of the elections, people will show their complete disconnect and dismissal by staying away and boycotting this drama,” a statement by Joint Resistance Leadership, comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, said.