There’s no fear in…this heaven

This has, in fact, surprised the state government which expected a massive tourist exodus following the attack. ‘‘I am surprised. I visited the lake in the evening and found the place bustling with activity. Tourists were everywhere and were having fun,’’ said Abdul Hameed, Superintendent of Tourism Police. ‘‘There was some panic in the morning, but it was mainly among the people living near the attack site. The tourists residing in houseboats near Hotel Leward have shifted to the hotels on Boulevard. Nothing else has changed.’’

The Director-General of J-K Tourism Department, Saleem Beigh, too seemed relaxed. ‘‘Not a single reservation has been cancelled. In fact, we had more arrivals,’’ he said. He reasons, ‘‘The attack was not aimed at tourists. The militants did not hit a houseboat or a hotel. It was the CRPF camp which was attacked and such incidents are common in Kashmir.’’

In fact, after a grenade attack killed four tourists in Pahalgam last month, the Lashkar-e-Toiba had issued a statement saying they were not against tourists and had asked visitors to go ahead with their tours without any fear.

Meanwhile, the Houseboat Owners’ Association says they will appeal again to the militants not to conduct any operations in the tourist areas. ‘‘We have had a tough time all these years and this season things appear to be going well,’’ said Abdul Aziz Tuman, chairman of the association. ‘‘We are issuing an appeal through newspapers and hope such an incident is not repeated during the rest of this season.’’

According to police, around 1,800 tourists arrived here today — among them 530 came by air. There were 34 foreigners as well.

The tourists appeared to have taken the attack in their stride. ‘‘We know such incidents keep happening here. We are not scared,’’ said Raj Kumar, a tourist from Mumbai. Kumar, who is here with two friends, says, ‘‘We are having fun and will as per our schedule.’’

The manager at Imperial Hotel on Boulevard also confirms that the tourist inflow has not been affected. ‘‘We had our routine bookings today as well. All our rooms are occupied,’’ he says.

On its part, the J-K police is not taking any chances and has strengthened the security arrangement around the main tourist spots.

MEANWHILE

Srinagar: After a nearly 11-hour gunbattle, security forces gunned down two Al-Mansoorian militants who had carried out a ‘‘suicide attack’’ on a CRPF camp her. DIG Mohammad Amin Shah said the attack came when the jawans were watching the India-Sri Lanka match on TV.

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s representative for J-K N.N. Vohra on Wednesday met CM Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and discussed the situation, including ways and means to begin the stalled dialogue between the Centre and the Hurriyat. —PTI