Normal life hit in Kashmir Valley due to strike call

Normal life was today affected in Kashmir Valley due to a strike called by separatist groups to protest against the alleged harassment of Kashmiri students outside the state.
Shops, business establishments, petrol pumps and educational institutions remained shut in Srinagar while thin attendance was witnessed in banks and government offices, officials said.
They said public transport was off the roads. However, private cars, cabs and auto-rickshaws were plying normally.
Reports of shutdown were also received from other district headquarters in the Valley, the officials said.
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Meanwhile, a police official said separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who head the rival factions of Hurriyat Conference, have been placed under house arrest as a precautionary measure.

He said JKLF chairman, Yasin Malik was detained yesterday and lodged at Kothibagh police station.
So far, no untoward incident has been reported from anywhere in Kashmir, the official said.