Traders call strike in J&K over poor flood relief

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister of J&K, had ordered arrest of Trade Body leaders last night, in view of the following shutdown

Marking the anniversary of the devastating Jammu and Kashmir floods, traders here called for a shutdown on Monday demanding relief for last year's flood victims.

Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) floods, which occured due to the overflow of rivers Jhelum and Chenab previous year, caused heavy loss of life and property.

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Chief Minister of J&K, had ordered arrest of Trade Body leaders last night, in view of the following shutdown.

Former chief minister of the state Omar Abdullah wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter.com about the shutdown.

"In a series of midnight raids Mufti Syed has ensured the arrest of all the Trade Body leaders. Their crime? Unhappiness over flood relief," tweeted Abdullah today.

"All these people wanted to do was register their dissatisfaction at the absence of any meaningful flood relief. Shame on Mufti the Dictator," he added.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in June had declared that 2,437 crore rupees was being immediately released for the state, but a Home Ministry press release issued later said 1,667 crore rupees additional assistance was being released.

The figures were lower than the 44,000 crore rupees that the National Conference-Congress government had demanded from the Centre post the floods.