Srinagar, Sept. 11: Militancy in Kashmir has claimed another casualty ? the dying cinema halls in the Valley.

For the owners of Neelam theatre, Kashmir’s only running cinema hall, the gunbattle between security forces and a militant near the civil secretariat on September 8 has spelt doom.

The hall itself is located in the high-security secretariat area. It stands guarded behind paramilitary bunkers and barricaded by tin sheets and razor wires. Despite such security arrangements, very few have cared to come to Neelam theatre to watch The Rising, being screened there.

The attendance in the cinema hall was already low and fell further after last week’s exchange of fire.

Noor Mohammad, the manager of the theatre, insists his hall has remained open all through.

But an employee said: “Wednesday’s attack has broken our backbone with the steep drop in attendance? We will run it till we can afford.”

“Even the hardiest of movie lovers is thinking twice before stepping into the darkness of the cinema hall,” said Manzoor Ahmad, a shopkeeper.

Fighting mounting losses, the owners have been renting out the building for a measly sum.

All other halls have pulled down their curtains. While one hall in Srinagar has been converted to a hospital, two others are being used to accommodate CRPF personnel.

Mohammad said the attendance ? never at the maximum since Neelam reopened after eight years ? had fallen to a dismal 60 to 100 viewers per show. It can hold 400 people. The hall had closed in 1989 and reopened with a huge assistance package and assurance of security from the then National Conference government headed by Farooq Abdullah.