Life was paralysed in Kashmir Valley today due to the 50-hour strike called by separatists ahead of polling in Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency tomorrow.
Almost all shops and business establishments, educational institutions, banks, courts and semi-government establishments were closed and private transport off the roads in the valley including Srinagar in response to the call given by hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani against holding of elections in the state.
The strike began last evening.Though government offices were functioning, attendance was thin. Authorities pressed into service State Road Transport Corporation buses on several routes to ferry employees. The divisional administration had ordered all departmental heads to ensure attendance of employees in their offices during the strike period.
The decision came after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern over the disruption of work in government offices and institutions last week in view of similar strike called by separatists.
Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the city and elsewhere in the valley to maintain law and order.
Several top separatists including chairmen of both the factions of Hurriyat conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq have been placed under house arrest, while nearly 12 prominent separatists have already been detained.
Security has been tightened around 1,483 polling stations including 665 hyper-sensitive booths set up across Srinagar Lok Sabha constituency spread over three districts of Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal.
Troops of 178 additional companies of CRPF besides police and paramilitary personnel have taken positions in and around these polling booths.The EC has appointed three election observers and 913 Micro observers to ensure free and fair elections.
A total of 11 lakh voters will decide the fate of National Conference President Farooq Abdullah, who is among 15 candidates trying his luck in the constituency.Among the formidable opponents of Abdullah are PDP's Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari and his estranged sister Begum Khalida Shah, president of Awami National Conference.
In the assembly elections last year, the NC had captured 12 out of the 15 seats spread over the constituency. While two seats were bagged by PDP, another went to President of peoples Democratic Front (PDF) Hakeem Mohammad Yasin.
The city usually witnesses low turnout which was evident in last year's assembly elections when only 21.93 per cent of the 5.60 lakh electorate cast their votes.
Tomorrow's polling will complete the election process in four of the six Lok Sabha seats in the state.
