India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | August 31st, 2004 | Trackback

A low-level insurgency that has been running since 1979 in the northeastern state of Assam claimed four lives and wounded dozens when a bus bomb blew up, a police vehicle hit a land mine and a grenade was tossed into a crowded market near the capital, Gauhati. Later, two large bombs exploded in Gauhati causing injuries but no deaths. These incidents followed two other bombings earlier in August. Increasingly the separatists are targeting civilians. Despite the attacks, however, the risk to travelers is not large, but mostly a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps a greater risk is attending large religious festivals in India. Five Hindu pilgrims were killed in a stampede at the Krishna Pushkaram festival near Vijayawada in the south when the crowd became impatient to bathe in a sacred river. Such incidents are not uncommon at these gatherings, and travelers should be careful not to get caught between crowds and the river when attending such festivals. Recent incidents include 39 deaths a year ago near Bombay and 51 deaths in 1999 at a ritual in the south.

Home » Asia, India, Insurgent violence, Cultural news

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India

By Larry Habegger | Permalink | No Comments | August 10th, 2004 | Trackback

A new force of tourist police similar to the squad recently deployed in Calcutta began patrolling sites in Delhi Aug. 6. The force was created in part in response to the murder of an Australian tourist in March who was killed when she resisted a robbery by her taxi driver from the international airport. The tourist police’s main objective is to protect foreign tourists from harassment and cheating by taxi drivers, rickshaw drivers, and shopkeepers. They wear blue armbands and are being posted at the airport, the Qutub Minar World Heritage site, the Red Fort, the World War I memorial, India Gate and the cremation memorials of several Indian leaders.

To commemorate the Taj Mahal’s 350th birthday, the majestic site may be open to tourists at night for the first time in 20 years beginning Sept. 27. The plan calls for the site to be open for five nights each month surrounding the full moon through March 2005.

Home » Asia, India, Scams/Crime, Political updates, Cultural news

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