Curfew in parts of Srinagar

SRINAGAR - As separatists asked people to resume normalcy for a day, authorities imposed curfew in some parts of Srinagar and north Kashmir to prevent protests after the Friday prayers.

Curfew has been imposed in five police station areas of Old City Srinagar and in the uptown Batmaloo area to maintain law and order,” a senior police officer said here.

Curfew has also been imposed in north Kashmir’s Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara and Handwara towns, he added.

Hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has asked people to resume normal life for a day and hold peaceful post Friday prayer protests.

Shops, educational institutions, banks, post offices and other businesses were closed in areas where curfew was imposed and traffic went off the roads.

But shops opened early morning in uptown areas of Srinagar city and a semblance of normalcy returned to parts of the city that has otherwise been wearing a deserted look due to curfew restrictions and separatist-called shutdowns and protests for the last four months.

As many as 109 people have lost their lives in the cycle of violence started here June 11.