By IANS,
Srinagar : Markets and banks here remained closed as authorities imposed restrictions in the city Tuesday, a day ahead of the seventh and final phase of the state assembly elections.
“The precautions taken today are to ensure smooth conduct of the polls tomorrow and to sanitise areas around the polling stations so that people can cast their vote without fear,” a police officer said here.
Eight constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar are scheduled to go to polls Wednesday.
Private and public transport remained off the roads and only vehicles of security forces were seen plying, escorting staff to various polling stations in the eight constituencies.
The separatist joint coordination committee of the two Hurriyat groups has asked the people of Srinagar to boycott the polls and march to city centre of Lal Chowk for a massive anti-poll protest.
Except for the 2004 by-poll in the Batmaloo constituency of Srinagar, in which 11 percent voter turnout was recorded, none of the other seven constituencies of the city has seen a voter turnout of over 10 percent since the separatist violence started here in 1989.