Srinagar: Normal life was affected in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir valley on Saturday due to a shutdown called by the Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq against the new land laws notified by the Centre for Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
On October 27, less than a week before the first anniversary of the reorganization of the erstwhile state of J-K into two Union territories, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order amending several J-K land laws and introducing some new laws to allow any person from across India to buy land in the region.
All shops, business establishments were closed and public transport wasn’t operational either. However private transport was running on the roads.
“All the markets are closed in the valley. People are protesting against the new land laws because they feel it might create problems in the future,” Sajid Ahmad Mir, a resident, told ANI.
This is for the first time since August 5 last year, when the Centre stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and split the state into two union territories, that the Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has issued a shutdown or protest call.
Until last year, outsiders were not allowed to buy property including land in J-K. These rights were exclusives reserved for “permanent residents” of the territory.