Boat tragedy: General strike cripples life in JK

Srinagar, June 1: A general strike called by several separatist organisations, against the Wullar Navy boat tragedy in which 22 students and a teacher of a private school were killed, crippled life in the Kashmir valley.

Shops and business establishments in Srinagar and some other major towns of the valley remained closed. However, traffic on majority routes in the city was normal.

Attendance in government offices and other commercial establishments was near normal. Most educational institutions were also functioning as usual.

A report from Baramulla said a complete shutdown was observed in this and other major towns of the north Kashmir in protest against the incident. Shops were closed and traffic was also off the roads, the report said.

Life also remained paralysed in south Kashmir where shops and other business establishments were closed and traffic off the road, a report from Anantnag said.

The chairman of the breakaway Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani alleged that tragedy was a conspiracy against the people of Jammu and Kashmir and demanded a probe by any international agency.

The other faction of the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) have also called the strike.

Twenty-two students and a woman teacher were killed when a boat of the Indian Navy capsized in the Wullar Lake in north Kashmir district of Baramulla on May 30 afternoon.

The Navy has already sanctioned Rs one lakh ex-gratia in favour of the next of the kin of the deceased while Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has announced a relief of Rs 20,000 per family and six months free ration.

The government has also ordered a judicial probe while army has already started a court of inquiry into the tragedy which led to massive demonstrations in north Kashmir.

UNI

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