Travel bookings for Valley go down after death of Bengal labourers

Kolkata: Travel bookings for Kashmir that had started after Article 370 was lifted in Jammu and Kashmir, have been affected after five migrant labourers from Bengal were shot dead by terrorists in Kulgam district recently.

"There is great interest and curiosity for visiting Jammu and Kashmir among travellers from Bengal. Queries from potential travellers mainly revolve around the security situation and connectivity in the Kashmir Valley. The situation is normal and people are gearing up to travel there," said Ahsan-ul-Haq, the officer in-charge of the Jammu and Kashmir tourist office in Kolkata.

The famous tourist spots in Jammu and Kashmir are Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Rajouri and Poonch. Lack of mobile connectivity during the 69-day lockdown in the Kashmir Valley had impacted the tourism industry.

This apart, five migrant labourers from Bengal were shot dead and another critically injured in the Kulgam district of South Kashmir on October 29.

"The tourists are safe. Pre-bookings for March-April 2020 for touring Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Rajouri and Poonch have already started," Haq pointed out.

"Kashmir is a popular tourist destination. The flight tickets for Jammu and Kashmir now range between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000," said Mohammad Tanvir of New City Travels.

Mobile data internet services, cellular networks and SMS services were snapped in the first week of August, while flight operations in Kashmir will remain cancelled

for a few days. The Valley was opened to tourists again from October 10.

Following the revocation order, Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, no longer exists.

On Saturday, the government has released the maps of newly created Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these UTs.