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J&K wages entertainment war

Mukhtar Ahmad In Srinagar

Hardcore militants and the Jammu and Kashmir administration are presently engaged in a high-profile entertainment combat.

Concerted efforts to re-open cinema halls, cable television and five-star hotels in Srinagar by the National Conference government have been meeting with stiff resistance from militants.

Last week militants attacked movie enthusiasts at the Regal cinema in Srinagar killing one person and injuring 20 others.

This is the second campaign of militants in the year against such establishments.

However, this was the first attempt on the part of the administration to re-open a place of entertainment in the main city. Earlier in the year, two cinema theatres -- Neelam and Broadway -- were re-opened in high security areas of the city.

Following the attack, Regal was closed down for a few days. It has now been re-opened following heavy deployment of paramilitary and police troops around the hall. However, evening shows have been suspended.

The cinema owner and its employees have been provided with security by the administration besides an interest-free loan of nearly Rs 4.5 million.

"We have provided interest-free loans to the cinema owners to encourage them to re-open their theatres. They need money to carry out necessary repairs and to purchase equipment," says an official.

He says other cinema owners are also being approached so that they can re-open their theatres.

"However, the attack on Regal is a serious setback as movie-goers are scared," he admits.

The frontline Tehrikul Mujaheedin, which had owned responsibility for the attack, had asked cinema owners, cable television operators, beauty parlours and video libraries to close down their establishments or face dire consequences.

Soon after the Regal incident, militants had ransacked a cable television owner's office, damaging costly equipment. Following this, other operators felt insecure and suspended their operations.

On Thursday, there was a grenade attack on another cable television office, causing injuries to one person. A few hours later, militants lobbed grenades at a video shop in a busy Srinagar area, damaging the shop.

Following the incidents, a group of cable operators had met All-Party Hurriyat Conference leaders.

The delegation had told APHC chief Sayed Ali Shah Geelani that unemployment had forced them into the business. They also promised to beam only sports and news channels.

APHC chief Sayed Ali Shah Geelani had told the cable operators to continue their business after blacking out Channel Vand MTV.

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