Reopen key tourist destinations: RTI Movement

Srinagar, Jul 13: The Jammu and Kashmir RTI Movement has appealed the government and the Lieutenant Governor’s administration to immediately reopen the key tourist destinations of the Pir Panjal range—Doodpathri, Tosamaidan, Yousmarg, and Aharbal.

In a statement, Dr Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Chairperson and Founder of the J&K RTI Movement, said these natural landscapes are more than scenic retreats. “They are the primary source of livelihood for thousands of local families. With half of the summer season already lost, continued closure is driving communities toward severe economic distress,”he said.

He stated that residents of these areas, already living under difficult economic conditions, now face a worsening crisis. The blanket ban on tourism is being viewed as a policy of exclusion, with no regard for the realities on the ground, Shaikh aaded..

He questioned the logic and legality behind the closures. He stated, “The people didnot ask for these places to be shut. This was a government decision. And now, it is the government’s moral, constitutional, and administrative responsibility to compensate those affected—food stall vendors, pony handlers, women who make ‘noon chai’, ETV drivers, and every person who earned a living through tourism. These people didn’t just lose their income; they lost their right to survive with dignity.”