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Mumbai's Oberoi hotel reopens with prayers
By NARENDRA JOSHI,Associated Press Writer AP - Monday, December 22
MUMBAI, India - Tight security and hopeful prayer were part of a multi-faith ceremony held Sunday to mark the reopening of Mumbai's Oberoi hotel three weeks after it was targeted in a militant rampage.
The simple ceremony, held in the lobby of the reopened hotel, included Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, Buddhist and Jain religious leaders and was attended by the entire staff of the hotel as well as guests.
Security around the hotel was beefed up, with sniffer dogs patrolling the grounds and armed policemen standing watch from behind sandbag bunkers near the entrance to the Trident Hotel section of the Oberoi complex. The Trident opened 100 rooms to guests Sunday.
"There is no fear. We see the courage of the people and the staff," said Kritika Srinivasan, 28, a regular guest at the hotel who went inside to congratulate the staff. "We have to show them (the attackers) that they can't break our courage and solidarity."
Inside the Oberoi, private security guards manned all lobby entrances, passing bags through metal detectors and X-ray scanners. ID cards were checked and everyone entering the building was patted down by hand as part of new security rules installed in the wake of the attacks.
The reopening comes three weeks after 10 suspected Islamic militants stormed sites across India's financial capital Nov. 26.
Militants from the banned Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba are accused of staging the attacks that killed 164 people over the course of a three-day siege and paralyzed much of the Mumbai. Nine of the alleged gunmen were killed, and one is in police custody.
Two of the most high-profile buildings targeted were the sleek, sea-front Oberoi and another luxury hotel, the majestic, 105-year-old historic Taj Mahal Palace and Tower. The Taj Mahal Group said the tower wing of its hotel will reopen with a similar ceremony Sunday evening.
The main areas of both hotels _ severely damaged in the shooting sprees and a 60-hour standoff with police _ are expected to remain closed for months.
The Taj had stepped up security even before the Mumbai attacks, in response to a deadly car bombing at the Marriott in Islamabad, Pakistan, in September _ primarily to prevent a similar attack. All cars underwent checks, and metal detectors were installed at all main entrances.
The gunmen, however, slipped in through a back entrance that did not have detectors, hotel officials said.
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