What is the admin upto?
Kashmir has had its tryst with tragedies since long. Be it the turmoil or natural disasters we have always had our share of loss and desperation. But this time around, that is when the world is fighting Covid-19 pandemic, Kashmir is yet again paying a heavy price.
Just yesterday we have had 10 deaths due to Covid-19 and more so, 701 positive cases that were reported from various districts of the region. This means given the number of deaths and positive cases we surely have crossed the red line.
However, one fails to understand the thinking process the people who control us have set themselves into. When most of the people have been forced to stay home to avoid the spread of Covid-19, why is the administration acting weird and allowing tourism sector to open up.
This sector, as we all understand and know has been witnessing peril since the past one year when the administration issued an advisory for tourists and Amarnath yatris to leave Kashmir owing to militant threats. Though that advisory proved quite the opposite as the union government had taken a decision to abrogate Article 370 on August 5, and the advisory was nothing but a precursor to the event.
Since then the tourism sector has witnessed loses and it continues to do so owing to the pandemic and its fallout. Though the tourism trade has witnessed a steep slide across the globe and only few countries including some of the developed nations have bothered to open up for tourism, but the footfall continues to be dismal and much below the mark.
But when it comes to Kashmir the administration tends to forget all the basics and announces opening up of the tourism sector. This despite the fact that most of the tourism players in the valley are not enthused over the government’s move to reopen the Union Territory for tourists.
The tourism players say that the ground situation is far from normal for any such activity to take place as during these extraordinary times, the survival of people is paramount and everything else comes later.
This view point is also held by most of the people here who feel that surviving the pandemic should be the priority for the people as well as the administration here. The reasons cited for this argument are simple, one-are our hotels and other places that will be kept for the tourists well equipped to provide a Covid free environment for the visitors. And second-are our healthcare facilities so vibrant and stress free that they can provide the required help and support in case the people may need it.
These questions should have been debated by the authorities before rushing to any conclusions about opening the tourism sector.
KV Network
