ANINDIAN HOTELPROJECTcomingupin GalleFace,
Colombo.(Left)Anempty restaurantat a hotelin
Hikkaduwa.Thetown,in thesouthwest,usedto bea top
touristattractionforboard-surfingandsparklingclear
waters,perfect for snorkelling.Today, of 27hotels, veryfew
arestill open.R.K.RADHAKRISHNANlevelof security.
ThefirsttoopenaftertheattackwasKingsbury,a
hoteljusta stone’sthrowfromShangri-La. TajSamudra,
thehotelwhose guestshada miraculousescapebecause
thetrigger mechanismofthebombdidnotwork,has
sandbag bunkersatcritical pointsintheproperty.The
hotelstaff is apologeticabouttheadditionalsecurity,but
thatis alsothereasonwhysomeguestsshowup.“Thisis
amongthesafestof placesto havea meal,”remarkeda Sri
Lankan official. “Theaddedsecurityisnotexactlya
welcome signfora hotel, butunfortunately,it is neces-
sarynow,”headded.
AcrossColombo,malls,restaurants andpublicplaces
gettoofewfootfallsthesedays. Almost twomonthslater,
thereis stilltensionandapprehension allaround and
resignationoverwherethecountryis headed.“TheLTTE
yearsarestillfreshin mymind.Atthefirsthintof trouble,
peopleavoidcrowdedplaces,”saida long-timeresident
of Colombowhodidnotwantto benamed.
ERANGPresident MaithripalaSirisena realisestheimport-A JAYAWARDENA/AP