Sushil Kumar Shinde shops and prays in Valley

Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde took some time out of his busy schedule on Saturday to take a stroll in the city centre signaling the return of peace and normalcy in the militancy-plagued Jammu and Kashmir.

From shopping to boat ride in Dal lake to paying obeisance at Dargah Hazratbal, Shinde did it all.

The home minister took the people by surprise when he visited the famous Polo View market for shopping. Flanked by chief minister Omar Abdullah, Shinde visited the local Kashmir arts showroom and spent around 20 minutes to shop for his family.

“He purchased some stuff for his family”, said Nazir Ahmad Wani, proprietor of the shop. Polo View market is hugely famous with tourists who throng here to buy handicrafts and dry fruits.

And with country’s home minister coming calling, the people associated with tourism are seeing it as good omen for the trade here.

Earlier, Shinde paid obeisance at Dargah Hazratbal which houses the relic of Prophet Mohammad. Later, he visited the graveyard of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah at Naseem Bagh. He also took a boat ride in the Dal Lake.