Centre can’t claim normalcy amid tourist destination closures: CM

Srinagar, Dec 13: 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.

CM Omar also called for a review of the decision to close several tourist spots after the attack.

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.”

CM Omar said some projects were inaugurated while foundation stones were laid for some others in Gulmarg, and the process would continue in other tourist destinations as well.

“We hope that the situation will remain good and tourists will prefer to come to Kashmir again,” he said.

Lamenting the absence of snowfall so far this winter, the CM said everyone was waiting for snow.

“Everyone is asking, ‘Has it snowed?’ We say, ‘Not yet.’ They all say, ‘Tell us when it snows,’” he said. About the restoration of J&K’s statehood, CM Omar said, “Let it snow first, then we will talk about statehood.”

About the power cuts during the winter season, he said sometimes maintenance necessitates them and asked people to use electricity judiciously.

“The system failure is happening in areas where correct consumption is not measured, and electricity meters are not installed,” the CM said. “The regular load shedding is a compulsion as the government is unable to meet the required electricity demand. It is because we don’t get the revenue for the electricity that we supply. We run at a loss. Repairs are another reason for power outages.”