Everyone is welcome was the call from valley
Valley hoteliers, tourism bodies and commoners offer help to tourists
Srinagar: A hotel here threw open its doors for tourists stranded in Kashmir in the wake of tensions between India and Pakistan, which led to closure of Srinagar airport for civilian flights on Wednesday.
“We are offering free accomodation and food for all those tourists who have got stranded in Kashmir due to the prevailing situation,” Sheikh Bashir Ahmad, chairman of The Kaisar Hotel, told PTI.
Ahmad said his hotel, located at Jawahar Nagar in the heart of the city, has 30 rooms.
“Everyone is welcome and they can stay with us till the situation improves so that they can go home,” he added.
While the number of tourists in Kashmir was not known immediately, they got stranded due to closure of the airport and the highway which is closed for days now.
Meanwhile, Kashmir based hoteliers urged stranded tourists to contact them so that they will arrange accommodation and other necessary facilities for them.
The Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHARA) appealed the tourists ‘who are at present stranded in Srinagar due to the prevailing warlike situation’ and also due to closure of airports and Highway to contact them.
Jt. Secretary General Mehboob Mir (KHARA) said that they are ready to help the stranded tourists in the ‘hour of need’.
“So that we may facilitate their accommodation and food till the situation gets back to normal,” Mir said.
They said that tourists are our guests and ‘we shall open our hearts for them in these trying times.’
They have also issued phone numbers for the stranded tourists. The phone numbers are 9419002829, 7006565210.
Similar messages were displayed by hundreds of netizens who offered their homes for the stranded tourists.
“I do not own a hotel but my home is always open for tourists and stranded people,” wrote Rahi Haroon, a social media user. He alongwith others displayed their contact numbers and asked people to drop in in case they need accommodation and food.
KV Network
