Another 20-year-old bunker removed from Srinagar's old city

Srinagar, April 4 (IANS) Yet another 20-year-old bunker of the security forces was removed from Srinagar's old city Wednesday.

'The Nawab Bazar bunker in the old city of Srinagar was removed today (Wdnesday),' Sudhir Kumar, public relations officer of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force told IANS.

Kumar also confirmed that two dozen bunkers would be removed in the coming days as the situation improves in the Kashmir Valley.

On Monday, the security forces had removed a bunker in Chinkra Mohalla area of the city.

Interestingly, the Nawab Bazar bunker, erected by the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) in the early 1990s during the outbreak of separatist insurgency in Kashmir, has been the scene of many a pitched gunfight between the security forces and militants in Srinagar city.

'I remember at least two dozen times when militants attacked the bunker and the security forces retaliated with automatic gunfire,' said a resident of the area.

Locals had been demanding the removal of the bunker to ease tensions in the area.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been advocating the removal of security force bunkers from populated areas of the state with the improvement in the overall law and order situation here.

Kashmir is all set to repeat another peaceful summer, expecting a record number of tourists this year as temperatures start rising early in the Indian plains.