The Kashmir valley today observed a complete shutdown on the call of separatist groups against the arrest of some students of Jawaharlal Nehru University, former Delhi University Professor SAR Geelani and crackdown on some Kashmiri students in New Delhi following the controversy over an event on hanging of Afzal Guru.Shops, business units and educational institutes were shut, while public transport was off the roads. However, private vehicles and cabs were moving in the Srinagar city and district headquarters.Government offices recorded a thin attendance of the employees as they could not reach their office due to non-availability of public transport.
Railway authorities suspended train services in the Valley in view of the strike calls.Reports from district headquarters including Baramulla, Pulwama, Kupwara, Anantnag and other towns said that the shutdown was observed, with very few private vehicles plying on roads. Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in sensitive places in Downtown and Maisuma localities of the city and in towns to thwart any protests by youth.An administrative official in Srinagar told KNS that no restrictions have been imposed in any part of the valley.Deputy Inspector General of Police, Central Kashmir range Ghulam Hassan Bhat told KNS the situation in the valley remained peacefull.The shutdown was called by all the separatist groups to protests the crackdown of some Kashmiri students studying in New Delhi and booking of former Professor of Delhi University S A R Geelani for sedition following their attending a cultural event in Jawaharlal University on the third anniversary of hanging of Afzal Guru. (KNS)