Bengal Minister to rush to Srinagar

Kolkata, July 11 (UNI) West Bengal Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee will leave for Srinagar today to supervise arrangements for bringing home the bodies of the tourists killed in a series of blasts in the valley.

'' The Tourism Minister is going to Srinagar. We have contacted the Jammu and Kashmir Government and have been in constant touch with it,'' Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters.

He said the team was being sent to ensure proper treatment to the injured and talk to Jammu and Kashmir administration regardimg the security of tourists visiting the valley.

Mr Mukherjee will be accompanied by Tourism Secretary G D Gautama and Special IG Kundanlal Tamta.

Altogether seven tourists, six of them from the state, were killed and 27 wounded in the attacks on a tourist tempo at Badyari and in a car at Regal Chowk.

No militant outfit had so far claimed responsibility for the incident.

Mr Mukherjee said they would ensure that the bodies were flown back to the city as early as possible. Measures would also be taken to fly back the injured, he said.

He said relatives of the victims had wanted to go to Srinagar, but the Government discouraged them. He, however, said the Government would not advise tourists from the state against visiting Jammu and Kashmir since that would amount to ''succumbing to the threat of militants''.

In reply to a question, the Tourism Minister said the State Government was yet to decide on ex-gratia payment to the victims.

Meanwhile, the state government has opened a control room at Salt Lake since most of the injured were from its adjoining areas.

UNI KDG-TJP PL KK AK RS1819