In what can be seen as soft ‘hammering’ on union government to get the closed tourist destinations back on footfall map, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the Centre cannot claim normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir until the destinations, closed after the Pahalgam attack earlier this year, are reopened.
At a time when the UT is witnessing less influx of tourists for several other reasons, CM Omar also called for a review of the decision to close several tourist spots after the attack. Pertinently many tourist places were declared banned for tourists soon after Pahalgam terror attack for threat perception on account of distant locations.
Speaking to the reporters after throwing open Asia’s longest ski drag lift at Gulmarg, he said the elected government can only build or improve the tourism-related infrastructure in J&K, and the decision to close tourist destinations “is not ours”.
“Unfortunately, when they are closed, there is no consultation with us. If I were sitting there, I would have opened everything by now,” the CM said.
After the April 22 terror attack in Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, which left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead, the LG’s administration closed several tourist spots in view of security considerations.“While a few of them were reopened for visitors in a phased manner, many more continue to remain shut,” CM Omar said.
He said J&K had witnessed worse situations earlier, but tourist destinations were never closed.“When tourism restarted after 1996, and there is a huge difference between the situation in Jammu and Kashmir then and now, we never closed any destination at that time,” he said.The CM said while the Centre has been helpful, the “problem” lies in the closure of several destinations.
He said the situation needs to be reviewed, whether at the assembly level or at the Centre level, but somebody needs to make a decision and review it.Questioning the need to keep such destinations closed, CM Omar said it was “spreading confusion” among the tourists.“How long are you going to keep these destinations closed? On one hand, you tell the world that we have normalised Jammu and Kashmir. On the other hand, half of Gulmarg is closed, half of Pahalgam and Doodhpathri are closed,” he said. “Until you open these destinations, how can you claim normalcy?”
The CM said that despite the Pahalgam attack, floods, Delhi blast, and the accidental blast in Nowgam, the government made continuous efforts to improve tourism.“Today, places like Gulmarg or Pahalgam compete not only with the destinations within the country, but all over the world,” he said. “Indian tourists travel all over the world. In such circumstances, it is imperative to keep improving our infrastructure.”
Follow us
