Srinagar-Jammu NH closure, high airfares a nightmare for scared tourists
For the desperate tourists to get out of the Valley, that leaves them with other two options - train from Srinagar to Sangaldan, which bypasses the landslide-hit Ramban and flights from Srinagar International airport where the fares have already skyrocketed owing to the closed highway.
The Pahalgam terror strike has come at a time when the Srinagar-Jammu national highway - the key road connecting the Valley to the rest of the country - is blocked at Ramban due to landslides, for the next two to three days. The only other road from the Valley to Jammu is the old Mughal Road which is not an all-weather road and passes through highly sensitive Shopian and Rajouri districts.
For the desperate tourists to get out of the Valley, that leaves them with other two options - train from Srinagar to Sangaldan, which bypasses the landslide-hit Ramban and flights from Srinagar International airport where the fares have already skyrocketed owing to the closed highway.
After the attack in Pahalgam, which was full of tourists, the authorities scrambled fast to evacuate the tourists from the resort.
“We are evacuating the tourists. The situation is under control. I won’t be going into the details of how many, from where and to where we are evacuating them,” said assistant director, tourism, Pahalgam, Jahid Azad.
The severity of the attack on the tourists has already triggered panic among the tourists and worry among the tourism players.
The tourism players say that there would be around 2 lakh tourists currently in Kashmir and if all of them decide to leave Kashmir tomorrow owing to the panic, it will be a logistical nightmare for the officials.
“Kashmir is fully booked right now and there must be over 2 lakh tourists here. The panic is there but home minister Amit Shah has already arrived here,” said Faiz Bakshi, a prominent hotelier and secretary general of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“The national highway is closed and if the tourists rush to leave, it is expected that the authorities will arrange special flights to evacuate the tourists because the Srinagar-Delhi fares have already touched ₹50,000,” he said.
The district administrations in summer capital Srinagar and Anantnag in south Kashmir have established emergency control rooms and help desks in deputy commissioners’ offices for the assistance of tourists.
Deputy commissioner, Srinagar, Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat told HT that they would be helping tourists coming from Pahalgam to Srinagar and those stuck here due to the closure of the highway.
“There will be two-three types of flux- one group of people are those who are stranded owing to road closure, another coming from Pahlagam and other tourist sites to Srinagar. We have talked to hotel associations and readied our own guest houses which can be utilised for their stay,” he said.
“I won’t be able to answer you on the question of what if tourists rush to airports and railway stations,” he said.
President of Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Owners Association, Gowhar Maqbool said that a good number of tourists have started to move towards Srinagar from Pahalgam. “I have requested all my members to provide all possible help to them. It is testing time for all of us. Let’s prove our commitment to the great cause of humanity. Also, to all other tourists who are facing difficulties due to road closure,” he said.