Situation remained tense in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, with hoards of tourists leaving the Valley in the early hours, following a militant attack that killed 26 people, in Pahalgam’s Baisaran, on Tuesday.
Srinagar airport was crowded with hundreds of tourists rushing to leave Kashmir after the attack. The incident that has shocked the whole nation, has worried the tourists who booked emergency flights back home.
On Tuesday, militants entered a prime tourist destination in Pahalgam. Various reports, quoting eyewitnesses, said that the militants separated the men from women and children, checked their identity cards, asked their names and started firing on the men.
On Wednesday, a day after the horrific attack, schools, colleges and business establishments remained closed throughout several parts of Kashmir with many unions calling for a near-complete shutdown to protest the deadly militant attack. The attack has left 26 people – including a local – and is being seen as the biggest attack on civilians in recent years.
Shops also remained closed in Srinagar and Pahalgam with tight security in various parts of the Valley.
Maktoob was on ground in Pahalgam and Srinagar and spoke to Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ashmuqam, Vasu Agarwal who said that after the incident, the hotel staff was asked to evacuate the tourists. “On wednesday around more than 200 cars of tourists left from Pahalgam,” he added.
However, the media was not allowed to report or enter Pahalgam. The correspondent was able to access the areas with difficulty.
While many tourists have left the Valley, others have decided to stay back and continue their holidays. Despite the incident, many are confident that they would be safe as the people of Kashmir have made them comfortable.
This quashes the narrative set by the mainstream media that has, since beginning, spreading misinformation regarding various facts.
While talking to Maktoob, Vijay Pradeep, a resident of Tamil Nadu said that he is planning to stay back in the Valley due to Kashmiri hospitality.
“We arrived in Kashmir when the incident happened. At first, we were panicking, but in Srinagar, we experienced the hospitality of the Kashmiri people. They helped us and safely dropped us at our hotel. Today, we reached Pahalgam, and we plan to stay here for a few days,” he said.
Pahalgam, which has been a tourist destination, has been considered a “vulnerable area”. However, experts in the Valley said that the place was “pushed” as a tourist destination.
The politicians are, meanwhile, questioning the government regarding the major security lapse, as there were no police or CRPF personnel, at the time of the attack. One also has to travel through a pony to reach the destination, as no roads were constructed, after a certain point, leaving many open ended questions.
Many experts have also pointed out that with Kashmir being a heavily surveilled place with locals going through constant checking and scrutiny, it is shocking how such a major lapse of judgement could happen.
While speaking to Maktoob, local MLA of Pahalgam, Altaf Kaloo while condemning the attack on tourists, called it a security lapse. “Security was usually deployed in Baisaran,” he added.
He also questioned the intelligence agencies, averring that places like Betab Valley have a footfall of about 2000 to 3000 people, for which there was not even a minimum security.
“I visited the tourists yesterday who were staying in the lobby and assured them of all possible support,” he added.
Tourists who had visited Pahalgam last year pointed out that there was no police or CPRF presence when they went to visit it, as well.
Saffron Field turned red again
The incident has, once again, left the tourism industry in the Valley crippled. In 2019, after the abrogation of Article 370, which led to massive loss in Kashmir’s economy, the tourism economy had just started thriving, especially since the last couple of years. But the attack has business owners worried for the future.
While speaking to Maktoob, a hotelier in Pahalgam said that there was a full vacancy of tourists, before the attack.
“A single room was not available for the customers,” he added.
Imtiyaz Ahmed, helper at the restaurant in Lethpora, in Pampore, said, “The flow of tourists has been increasing. We used to open the restaurant at 8 a.m., and by 4 p.m., we wouldn’t even get a moment to rest. Earlier, there were only three of us working, but due to the rising number of tourists, we recently hired another helper. However, with this recent incident, we are in deep shock.”
Lethpora is the same place where the Pulwama attack, where 40 CRPF personnels were killed by suicide bomber in 2019. Despite that, the tourism sector had been at its peak with the number of visitors increasing.
Recently, the tourism department had organized a Wild Tulip Festival to attract even more tourists.
Hussain (name changed on request), a taxi driver said that all the cab bookings have been cancelled.
“I used to drive a taxi car but all the bookings have been cancelled. I am deeply shocked. It feels like someone from my own family has been killed. The tourism sector is going to be affected very badly,” he said.
As the whole country mourns the death of 26 people killed in the attack, the Valley witnessed a heartbreaking scene.
A Kashmiri pony ride operator, Syed Adil Hussain Shah, was among the 26 killed in the Pahalgam militant attack, after he bravely confronted a gunman, attempting to seize his rifle, becoming the only local victim in the Pahalgam militant attack.
The 34-year-old Syed Adil Hussain Shah, a resident of Hapatnar village in Anantnag, became a symbol of bravery as he attempted to protect the tourists he had brought to the spot during the attack.
The incident, meanwhile, united people in grief with people in Pahalgam taking out candlelight march on Wednesday evening. In the presence of police, people shouted slogans like “Indian Army zindabad”, “Police hamari jaan hai (police is our life)”, “We want justice”.
Protests were also held in Srinagar as well.
Meanwhile, tourists were also seen attending Ramkatha, a Hindu religious event, which is happening in Srinagar, near Dal Lake, after 35 years.
Speaking to Maktoob, Ashwin Bush, a participant of Ramkatha who was going to attend the event said, “A wrong narrative is being spread about the people of Kashmir. Kashmiri people are very helpful.”
The situation is expected to get more tense as investigation unravels as to how the militants were able to enter the area and why there were no security forces present.
The statements, by tourists on ground, also goes against the social media propaganda going on against Muslims in Kashmir and rest of India.
