Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said that prolonged closure of tourist destinations undermines claims of normalcy in the region.
Omar said the decision on closing around 50 tourist destinations in the wake of the Pahalgam attack were taken without adequate consultation.
Speaking to reporters in Gulmarg, Omar said had the decision to close tourist destinations been his, he would have reopened all of them by now.
He said the elected government’s role is limited to creating infrastructure, while decisions on closing tourist destinations are taken without adequate consultation.
“We can only build infrastructure. The decision to close destinations is not ours, and unfortunately, there is no consultation with people like us when such decisions are taken,” he said.
The CM noted that Jammu and Kashmir had faced far more difficult circumstances in the past, particularly after 1996 when tourism slowly revived, yet tourist destinations were not shut at that time.
“Today, destinations are closed. I want these decisions to be reviewed and the places reopened in a phased manner, one by one,” he said.
Following the terror attack in Pahalgam on April 22, in which 25 tourists and a local guide were killed, the LG administration announced the closure of nearly 50 tourist destinations across Jammu and Kashmir due to security concerns. Since then, around 30 tourist spots have been reopened.
Omar said there was an urgent need to reassess the remaining closures.
“There is a problem with keeping destinations closed. Whether this review happens at the level of Lok Bhawan, here, or at the Government of India, I am not getting into that. But someone has to take a decision,” he said.
Questioning the narrative of normalcy, the Chief Minister said, “On one hand, you tell the world that Jammu and Kashmir has normalized. On the other, half of Gulmarg is closed, half of Pahalgam is closed, Dodh Pathri is closed, and many other destinations remain shut. Until these places are opened, how can you claim normalcy?”
He, however, acknowledged the support of the union Tourism Ministry, saying it has been helpful to the Jammu and Kashmir government and continues to extend cooperation.