Tight security for PM's Kashmir visit

There is tight security in Srinagar for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's two-day Kashmir visit starting Friday.

In view of a sudden spurt in terrorist violence in the state, the administration is not taking any chances and has cordoned off almost all places that the prime minister is scheduled to visit.

Speaking to rediff.com, Director General of Police A K Suri, however, downplayed the hype about security and said the arrangements that have been made are all routine elements of VVIP security.

"I do not know why the media is trying to link the terrorist attack on a police post in Udhampur on Thursday morning [to the prime minister's visit]. Let me assure you that this incident is not even remotely connected to the visit. Such incidents keep taking place in the state," Suri said.

He said the state police in coordination with para-military forces and other security agencies have taken adequate measures.

A core team of the elite Special Protection Group, responsible for prime minister's security, landed in Srinagar three days back.

"Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit assumes great significance in view of the Union government's peace initiative and Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's insistence on an unconditional dialogue to restore peace in the state," claims a press note issued by the state government.

Amar Singh Club, also known as Sher-e-Kashmir cricket ground, where the prime minister would address a public meeting, has been sealed by security agencies.

Railways Minister Nitish Kumar and Civil Aviation Minister Shah Nawaz Hussain would accompany the prime minister.

Among his other engagements, Vajpayee would lay the foundation stone of a Rs 45-crore expansion project of Srinagar airport on Friday.

Later in the day, he would lay the foundation stone for a super highway project.

On Saturday, Vajpayee would lay the foundation stone for a railway bridge at Qazigund. The bridge is part of 142-km Katra-Qazigund railway line which will have 56 major and 132 small bridges.
 
Vajpayee would attend a convocation at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre and then address a
press conference at the airport shortly before his return to New Delhi.

This is the prime minister's second visit to Kashmir in less than a year.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has called a bandh in the Valley on Friday and Saturday and urged people to boycott the prime minister's programmes.