Life back on track in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk
By IANSMonday, January 11, 2010
SRINAGAR - Markets in city centre Lal Chowk and adjacent areas here resumed business after four days Monday following a gunfight between militants and security personnel that lasted 23 hours. The government has assured the people that the paramilitary camp in the area would be relocated.
Shops were opened in Lal Chowk, Residency Road, Gonikhan, and Hari Singh High Street and vehicles also plied normally.
Two guerrillas had attacked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Lal Chowk Wednesday and later taken shelter in a hotel in the market square, triggering a gun battle that lasted for 23 hours.
The stand-off between the holed up guerrillas and the security forces ended with the death of the two guerrillas, one policeman and a civilian.
Ten people, including two CRPF troopers and eight civilians, were wounded in the incident.
The hotel building where the guerrillas had taken up positions was gutted following the heavy exchange of fire between the guerrillas and security forces.
Shopkeepers and other businessmen in Lal Chowk had refused to open their shops after the gunfight ended Friday, demanding the removal of the CRPF camp from the city centre.
Nasir Ahmad Wani, a legislator and junior minister for tourism, met a delegation of businessmen Sunday and assured them that the camp would be relocated soon.
