A protest shutdown against the proposed land lease in Gulmarg marred normal life in summer capital Srinagar [Images] on Saturday.

The strike called by the senior separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani was supported by underground groups and the mainstream National Conference.

It is for the first time that both the separatist leader and the NC called for a shutdown.

Succumbing to mounting pressure, the state tourism minister Mohammad Dilawar Mir had announced that the 'land lease deal had been put on hold and the entire issue would now be re-examined by the state cabinet'.

Saturday's strike was near total as markets, government offices, banks and educational institutions remained shut in Srinagar and other towns.

Work in government offices was adversely affected due to non-availability of public transport though skeletal private transport plied on the roads here.

Reports from other towns also said that life was paralysed there.