Sept 18: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday lashed out at the Centre for keeping several major tourist destinations in the region shut, saying that promotion of tourism cannot be reconciled with prolonged closures.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Gulmarg Convention Centre, Abdullah referred to the Pahalgam incident, remarking that while it should never have occurred, once security arrangements were in place, authorities ought to have reopened these spots promptly.
“On one side, the government speaks of normalcy and launches tourism campaigns, but at the same time, many well-known destinations continue to remain off-limits. These two approaches cannot go together,” the Chief Minister asserted.
He urged the immediate reopening of popular sites including Drung, Doodhpathri, parts of Gulmarg, Yousmarg, and Tosamaidan, warning that stakeholders in the tourism industry have already borne significant financial losses due to the prolonged restrictions.
