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'J-K Govt's negligence led to tourists' killing'
Surat/Srinagar:
As the body of four tourists, who were killed in a terrorist attack
in Srinagar yesterday arrived in Surat on Friday, activists of Vishwa
Hindu Parishad (VHP) charged the Jammu and Kashmir Government with negligence
leading to the killings. The protesters hit the streets with banners,
burned effigy to express their anger at the killings. "Every year so many
tourists from Gujarat and Surat go there. It is the duty of the State
government to provide security to the tourists. As it has failed to do
its duty it should resign," said Uttkarsh Patel, a Viswa Hindu Parishad
activist. The state administration, meanwhile, stepped in to reassure
the tourists of every possible assistance. "Tourists were never a target.
There has been a free flow of them. We feel very sorry for what happened
yesterday. We hope that it does not get repeated. We depend on tourism
and people should see those tourists are not affected. They should feel
happy and safe," said Farooq Shah, Director of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism.
Four Indian tourists, including a child and a woman, were killed on Thursday
when militants threw a grenade at their bus in Srinagar. The minibus was
packed with nearly 15 people all hailing from Gujarat who were staying
in a houseboat in the city's famed Dal Lake and were moving towards the
historical Mughal gardens. The attack came as Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh wrapped up the two-day Roundtable Conference o Kashmir with local
political leaders. A record number of tourists visited Kashmir during
this year after a long period. Last year over 370,000 tourists visited
Kashmir, once Asia's top tourist destination, with its verdant meadows,
snow-capped mountains, pine forests and blue lakes dotted with houseboats.
-May 26, 2006
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