Nitin Mahajan & Neeraj Chauhan

JAIPUR, MAY 15: After two days of curfew, the Pink City slowly started getting back on its feet on Thursday. People could be seen going about their business on the streets and markets after the curfew was relaxed at 4 pm. Markets in the blast-damaged Walled City area also opened partially, with people returning to worship at the temples that had been targeted in Tuesday’s attack.

Many also attended a special aarti that was arranged at Hanuman Mandir, the temple that had borne the brunt of the attack.

Driven by curiosity or perhaps simply to pay their respects, crowds congregated at the spots where the bombs had exploded, and gazed at the devastation caused by the shrapnel, some examining the ball bearings that had been embedded in the walls and streets.

At the bangle market in Manak Chowk, another blast site, shopkeepers could be seen clearing the area of shattered bits of bangles. “The administration has assured us that they will enhance security in the area and will put an end to the curfew within the next few days,” said shopkeeper Shravan Verma. “We want to get started with our work as soon as possible.”

Shoppers are already back making essential purchases. “For how long can we continue to live like this? We have to defeat the terrorists’ plans,” stated Ram Narayan Das.

Even the few foreign tourists who had remained in the city ventured out. “We came to know about the blast when we were at our hotel, but decided to stick on. We plan to leave by tomorrow,” said American tourist Joshua Perry.

However, there were reports of other tourists making cancellations and quickly checking out of their hotels to head home. Even though Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje denied this on Wednesday, travel agents and hoteliers said they were already feeling the pinch.

“Six of our guests cancelled their bookings at Golden Hotel on Wednesday, nine cancelled at Country Inn, and Jaipur Palace lost two bookings,” said Mohan Singh, manager of Rajasthan Tours Pvt Ltd. “There must be around 200 to 250 hotels, including budget hotels here in Jaipur and its outskirts. I have worked as a tour operator here for the past 33 years... and this is the most empty that Jaipur has ever been of tourists,” claimed Padam Singh, manager of Amber Tour and Travels.

Ravi Dua, a tourist from Delhi who arrived in Jaipur on the day of the blast, is also eager to leave. “We are not scared because everything is normal now. But if there is curfew in the city and we cannot travel anywhere, what is the point of staying here? We will see the Pink City later,” he said.

Tourist attractions which are usually quite crowded with foreigners were deserted. However, some local shopkeepers and tourists pointed out that part of the lull was due to the fact that it was off-season — around this time of the year, the average number of tourists visiting per day is 500 to 800, while between winter and March, about 2,000 people visit the monuments of Jaipur everyday.

editor@expressindia.com