Life in Indian-controlled Kashmir is at a standstill for the third consecutive day after protests over the transfer of land for a Hindu pilgrimage site.

Shops in the valley are shut and traffic is suspended.

Three people have been shot dead by police in three days of protests in India's only Muslim-majority state.

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The authorities say temporary structures are needed for the pilgrims, but protesters accuse officials of seeking to change the demographic balance in the area.

'Conspiracy'

The protests began after the state government transferred 40 hectares of forest land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board - the organisation which organises the pilgrimage.

The government said the land was needed for the construction of pre-fabricated huts and toilets for the pilgrims.

Local environmentalists protested against the decision and local politicians joined them in opposing the issue.

The separatist groups say the transfer of land to the shrine board is part of a "conspiracy to settle non-local Hindus in the valley with a view to reducing the Muslims to a minority".

Pro-India political parties, like the opposition National Conference and constituents of the governing coalition - the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Communist Party-Marxist (CPI-M) - have also opposed the transfer of land.

The PDP patron and former state chief minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayed, has said the government should revoke the land transfer by the end of the month.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's decision to call an all party meeting over the issue has failed to stop the protests.

The Hindu nationalist Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have called a strike in the Hindu majority Jammu region of the state to oppose the stir against land transfer.

The strike call has evoked an overwhelming response in many Hindu-dominated areas.

Two protesters were killed when police fired to disperse crowds on Wednesday, one at Mazhama outside Srinagar and one in the city itself.

Another man was hit by a bullet on Monday and died of his injuries later the same day.

The leader of a group protesting against the transfer of land, Mian Qayum, has been placed under house arrest.

Much of the controversy is being blamed on the former governor of the state, Lieut-Gen (retired) SK Sinha, who left office on Tuesday.

The governor is the ex-officio head of the shrine board.

Gen Sinha has said the shrine board is not answerable to the state's law-making assembly. He has refused to answer questions put to the shrine board by the law-makers.

The controversy has brought together the separatists - the hard-line and moderate factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) - who have decided to carry out a joint campaign against the land transfer.

Are you in Srinagar? Did you witness the protests? Send us your views on the land-transfer.

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(BBC)

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