Terror Attack Following Jammu-Kashmir Highway Closure Leaves Tourists On Edge

Srinagar: Amid the fallout of flash floods leaving a trail of destruction, including shutting down the key National Highway 44 in Jammu and Kashmir, driving economic losses but it is the militant attack on tourists that has left stakeholders worried.

On Tuesday afternoon, militants opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisran when they were holidaying at the tourist destination. One tourist was killed and several others wounded in the attack at the site, which serves as a transit route for the Yatris heading to the Amarnath cave in the Himalayas.

Initial videos showed injured tourists lying strewn in the meadow. "This is a direct hit on the tourism sector," said Fiaz Bakshi, who is the General Secretary of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "It is meant to scare people and tarnish Kashmir’s image of a safe and hospitable destination."

The attacks came amid widespread disruption triggered by flash floods and landslides that washed away parts of nearly 10 kilometres of the National Highway 44 at Ramban, the key arterial road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. Five people, including two children, were killed in the cloudbursts that triggered the destruction.

Amid the twin crisis now, the tourists are stuck and unable to leave the Valley with airfares skyrocketing, reaching more than Rs 20000 for a one-way flight to Delhi from Srinagar. This is over Rs 6000 more than fares to Dubai from New Delhi Airport.

This prompted the stakeholders like Travel Agents Association of Kashmir to seek intervention of the government. In separate letters, they urged the Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for additional flights or Indian Air Force choppers to manage the tourists stuck in the Valley.

"The tourists are flooded with calls from their families outside the Valley," said Gowhar Maqbool, president of the Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association. "Some visitors want to leave immediately but the road closure and airfare spike have them trapped."

Rauf Tramboo, president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir, said the industry is facing a crisis. "The highway collapse had already hit us. Now, this attack has made things worse," he said.

Currently, Kashmir was experiencing record tourist arrivals. Director Tourism Department Kashmir Raja Yaqoob told ETV Bharat that occupancy of hotels had reached to the brim across the tourist destinations in the region.

On average, Kashmir was receiving above 10,000 visitors through road and over 50 flights landing in Srinagar each day. But the attack is driving cancellations soon after the news of the attack flashed on the screens, said KCCI’s Bakshi.

"Only one per cent of the cancellations were caused by the highway closure," said a manager of a leading hotel in Gulmarg over the phone. "But we expect the attack will surge the cancellations."

Like many others, Bakshi called on authorities to fast-track investigations into the gruesome attack and deliver justice. "This is not acceptable," he said. "We worked hard all these years to bring tourism on track but we cannot afford to undo the progress made so far."

Amid this, it will still take days together to clear the tonnes of debris from the highway, said National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Project Director Parshotam Kumar. "It will take 4-5 days to clear the road," he told ETV Bharat.