Tourists begin to trickle in months after April killings in Pahalgam

Two months after a murderous attack in the cashmere administered by the Indians frightened tourists and brought India and Pakistan to the edge of the war, the picturesque valley nestled in the Himalayan mountains begins to see the first signs of a tourist renewal.

Shabana Awwal made videos of her children as they took turns to put a water bike for a lap on Lake Dal, the most emblematic tourist point in the city of Srinagar.

Ms. Awwal has traveled from the Western state of Rajasthan with her husband and children in a 15 -year -old group – all members of their extended family.

“I have visited the cashmere several times and given all the main attractions such as Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Pahalgam and I wanted to show all these places to my loved ones,” she told the BBC.

The awwals had planned their 10 -day trip in March. “The summer at Rajasthan is unbearably hot, so we planned to escape cashmere during the school holidays for children,” she said.

But since she planned the trip, the circumstances here have radically changed. On April 22, activists attacked tourists visiting a place of beauty near Pahalgam Town, killing 26 men.

Tourism is the pillar of the economy of Jammu-et-Cachemire, a territory administered by the federal government, and this unprecedented targeting of tourists sent shock waves across India. The authorities have closed 48 tourist destinations in the valley and two thirds of them are still closed.

Head Minister Omar Abdullah, who lobby hard to reopen these places to attract visitors to the region, known as “the impact of the attack was immediate and very largely felt”.

“There was a massive exodus of these tourists who were already there, and a mass cancellation of those who proposed to come. Then, India and Pakistan, for all useful purposes, were almost at war for a few days in May,” told Abdullah to the BBC.

“So, the lasting impact was felt both in the deterioration of relations between the two neighboring countries and our tourist season for the year will be, what word I use for that? I suppose you can call it a disaster.”

The cashmere, affirmed by India and Pakistan, has been a flash point for decades. The neighbors of Southern Nuclear Asia fought two wars and a limited conflict on cashmere. For more than a quarter of a century, the region has seen an armed insurrection against Indian domination, but even at its peak, tourists were rarely targeted.

Ms. Awwal said her family had decided to continue her vacation because “we were not really afraid” and “we thought we will deal with everything that happened to us”.

“We are happy that we have continued our plans. The situation here is normal,” she said and blame the “media threw” for the impression that it is not sure to go to cashmere.

Awwals are not alone in their optimism. Deepti and Anuj Gandhi from Jammu who made their plans last week say “There is no better summer vacation destination than cashmere”.

“Children love to bike with water and then we are going to do boost in the lake. We come here every year, so why break the tradition now?” she said.

Earlier this week, the Ani news agency reported that a group of Polish tourists had arrived in the city.

Arrivals a few weeks after Pahalgam’s attack are a cause of optimism for hoteliers, taxi drivers, tourist guides, shops and owners of Shikaras – narrow colored wooden boats in Venetian gondolas that carry tourists on Lake Dal.

In April, the president of the Shikara Owners’ Association Haji Wali Wali Mohammad Bhat says that Boulevard Dal Lake was filled with thousands of tourists, there were daily traffic jams and many complained that they had trouble obtaining accommodation.

“The attack on tourists was unhappy and tragic,” he said.

“This has allocated us all and our livelihoods. Tourists are our life, tourism is our life buoy. God knows for what sin we pay,” he adds, desperately.

Ravi Gosain, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, which recently led a three -day “troublemaker” – because “they are the ones who send travelers to cashmere,” tourism has been flourishing in cashmere in recent years, many new hotels had been built, new vehicles have been purchased and new stores had opened “.

Last year, the government said that 23.6 million tourists visited Jammu-et-Cachemire, with 3.49 million people visiting the valley.

This year, says Gosain, the high season was lost in the valley, but tourism can still resume.

“The inhabitants are very welcoming, the hoteliers, the tourist guides and the traders are very friendly and people come back. You can see it – All flights arrive in full, tourism rebounds quickly.

“I think that the national feeling is that if the goal of the attack was to derail tourism, then it will not succeed. But I hope that no unfortunate incident will happen again,” he adds.

According to reports, part of the credit for the Renaissance of Tourism in Cashmere also goes to a new train link which has for the first time connected Srinagar to the rest of India.

The train twice a day of Srinagar at Katra station, in the Jammu region – which recently made the headlines to spend “the highest unique rail bridge in the world” – was wrapped and the tickets were sold for the next two months.

Katra, who is the starting point for those who visit the popular Hindu Sanctuary of Vahno Devi, attracted 9.48 million pilgrims last year.

And many of those who have arrived there since June 7, when the new air -blown train has been put into service, he jumped there to go to cashmere.

Among the pilgrims who benefit from easy connectivity, there is Ghanshyam Bharadwaj and his wife Mamata Sharma and their children. For the couple based in Delhi, taking advantage of hot sweet tea near Lake Dal, coming to Srinagar was “a spur decision of the moment”.

“It took us just three hours from Katra. We will spend the night here and bring the train back to Katra tomorrow and go to Delhi,” said Bharadwaj.

“I ask him if he was worried about traveling in the valley so shortly after Pahalgam’s attack?”

“There is nothing to fear. This is my country,” he said.

The chief minister Abdullah says that the fact that pilgrims choose to come to the valley is a good start.

“Now, those who come for a few hours, I would like to see them coming for a few days. Those who come for a few days, I would like to see them have the confidence necessary to stay a week.

“But at least it’s a start, and that’s what helps.”

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