PM's J&K visit a tourism scare

SCARED LOT: Locals believe the PM should use some other time to study the situation in Kashmir.

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Srinagar: In a new scare in Jammu and Kashmir, the Prime Minister's visit to the valley next month is causing anxiety to the tourism industry.

It may be burning hot in the plains, but it's still 20 degrees in the Kashmir valley. No wonder, more than one thousand visitors are coming to Kashmir everyday.

And the expectation was that their numbers could triple in May and June. But now, news of a Prime Ministerial visit next month is causing a bit of a scare.

"You have a political hi-fi event it always attracts attention and whereas we would like to keep tourism as a very low profile activity. I would request them please leave May June free for us rest you can have rest of the year," said Leading Tour operator Nazir Bakshi.

When the Prime Minister visited Srinagar last year, the whole city was turned into a fortress with stringent security measures.

In fact the visit caused a lot of inconvenience to tourists and locals. Terrorists too timed their attack on tourists during the visit. Those in the business say such high profile visits should be avoided during peak tourism season.

"It makes a lot of difference Tourists have to suffer. People are not allowed to move about freely," said Shikarawalla Mohd Rafiq.

Locals believe the Prime Minister should use some other time to study the situation in Kashmir. Summers, they say, is time for some good business.

The Tourist season in Kashmir is just beginning to peak but the reports of the Prime ministers scheduled visit next month is already causing a few worries.