Srinagar is under a massive security blanket for the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s poll rally on Monday afternoon.
The prime minister will address the first ever Bharatiya Janata Party poll rally in the heart of summer capital Srinagar at Sher-e-Kashmir Indoor stadium.
Apart from deployment of hundreds of police and paramilitary troops in and around the rally venue, all roads leading to the stadium have been barricaded and no vehicular movement is being allowed in a radius of around 2 kms.
The prime minister arrived in Srinagar in the afternoon after having addressed a BJP poll rally in Jammu.
Before addressing the poll rally, the PM visited the adjacent Badami Bagh cantonment, the headquarters of army’s 15 corps to pay homage to the martyrs of the army who laid down their lives fighting the terror attack at Mahura in north Kashmir's Baramulla district last week.
Eight army soldiers including a lieutenant colonel and three policemen were killed in the militant attack on a camp of the army.
Authorities have imposed restrictions in the areas falling under five police stations of downtown Srinagar as part of the overall security bandobast. The BJP issued advertisement has been carried by all the local newspapers today inviting people to the Modi rally.
The two groups of separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference have called for a shutdown to protest the visit.
Photograph: Umar Ganie
