The Kashmir valley observed a near total shutdown on Tuesday to protest Monday night's massacre of 24 Kashmiri Pandits at Nadimarg village near Shopian in Pulwama district.

In capital Srinagar, shops, business establishments, schools, colleges and government offices remained shut. There was little traffic on the roads and people preferred to stay indoors.

The bandh call was given by the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference, which has demanded an independent inquiry into the massacre.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in Jammu, Kathua and Udhampur too in response to a separate bandh called by all major political parties, including the ruling coalition comprising the Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Panthers Party and the Peoples Democratic Forum.

Police and Central Reserve Police Force jawans were deployed in sensitive areas of the city to maintain law and order.

State BJP chief, Nirmal Singh, said the bandh was called to protest against the continued terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in the state.

In the past few weeks the situation had worsened and it appeared that the state government was no longer in control, he said.

With inputs from PTI