• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Rasheeda Bhagat

Tourists alighting from a `Gondola' at Gulmarg, Kashmir.

Recently in Srinagar

A STUDENT at the Kashmir University in Srinagar tells you that the changing face of Kashmir is like the two faces of a coin. And the more you interact with people in different parts of the Valley, the more the truth of this observation strikes you. On the one side, you have images of a healthy tourist flow in Srinagar and Gulmarg and the happy faces of agricultural labourers earning a handsome daily wage of Rs 120.

But on the other, while departing from the Srinagar airport and wilting under the barrage of different tiers of security, an officer of the J&K police, who obviously wished to remain anonymous, smiles wryly as you tell him about the city "looking so normal, with tourists flocking to the Dal Lake."

Shaking his head, he says, "In Kashmir, please don't go by what you see. Some things may look very obvious, but the reality is something else. Now you say that so many tourists mean more business for the shikarawala, the houseboat wala and the hotels/restaurants. Right on the first two counts, but wrong on the third. Do you know that one restaurant owner on Lal Chowk told me that many Gujaratis and Marwaris bring food to last for four to five days... they brings pooris, and theklas and pickles? I was told they are scared that Hindus will get poisoned in Kashmir's hotels."

Unfortunately, it is the blowing out of proportion of such stupid but stray comments, that has built mistrust and alienated the Kashmiris, not to mention the heavy propaganda from the Pakistan side.

The police officer disputed the State Government's claim that the Special Operations Group, which had become notorious for picking up young men for questioning and then demanding money for their release, had been assimilated into the Police.

"Even today they continue to pick up people and demand a couple of lakhs for their release. While the innocents are held by them, terrorists are released, along with their weapons for a ransom of Rs 6 to 7 lakh. And with terrorism being big business, it is not difficult for them to find this money."

His parting kick is an ace. "People in Srinagar know that the JKLF (Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front) Chairman, Yasin Malik, who is today staging a drama of collecting signatures, would struggle to get roti to eat. Aaj uska dil dhadakta hei tau who London jata hei (today if his heart skips a beat, he goes to London). Where did the money comes from? It is blood money sucked out from the people of Kashmir."

But whether or not they bring their food with them, the tourists are certainly coming into Srinagar, from where they flock to tourist attractions such as Gulmarg and Pahelgam. At Gulmarg, about 55 km from Srinagar, we saw tourists flocking to take a gondola ride from Gulmarg to Khilanmarg.

The `gondola' or cable car project has been put up by the French company Poma Galasky and the 2.5-km ride takes about 10 minutes in either direction. It costs Rs 100 per person and Sohail Rasheed, an engineer with the J&K Cable Car Corporation which runs the service, says that these days the collection is around Rs 1 lakh.

The gondolas take you from a height of about 90,00 ft to 10,500 ft and there are 72 gondolas fitted over 19 towers. In the second phase of the project an additional 37 gondolas will be added and the ride extended.

"There are plans to develop this point as a skiing destination, and this year during the season, we had Japanese, Australian and French tourists and an Israeli trainer had pitched his camp here and was giving skiing lessons for three months," added Rasheed.

On the return of tourists to the Valley, the CPI(M) MLA, Mr M.Y. Tarigami, is keeping his fingers crossed. "There is so much enthusiasm to receive the tourists this year, and places such as Pahelgam and Gulmarg are packed."

He says this is a "message to our friends, the militants, and my appeal to them is: Please read the mood of the people. Those who come here come not as politicians, but as our guests, and they give livelihood to our people.

After so many years the house boat and shikara owners have got their livelihood, so please don't do anything to scare away the tourists."

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication

Stories in this Section
Overt expression in intimate conduct

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line