PUPPETS OF POLITICS: KASHMIR AND IT'S STATE OF TOURISM by Bidita Chanda.

  

The empty valleys of Kashmir.
Source: avoid-crowds

Jammu and Kashmir. The union territory where the beauty of nature is at its peak. But the constant lockdowns and communication blackouts hampered their tourism extensively through already hit militancy, then the political up heal in 2019 and now the Covid pandemic. In 2017 Kashmir tourism was going through the worst crisis in over two decades. Even with hotels were offering discounts as high as 70%, occupancy rates were less than 5% at a time when the tourist season was at its end. 

The downfall of Kashmir further declined on 5^th August 2019, following the revocation of Article 370 and Article 35A. Nearly 4,000 people have been arrested in the disputed region. Among those arrested were more than 200 local Kashmiri politicians, including two former chief ministers of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, along with more than 100 leaders and activists from the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. The restrictions finally ended on 5^th February 2021 with 4G services being restored on the whole union territory.

In Srinagar during the covid lockdown.

Source: time.com

But around the third month of 2020 a new reason for lockdown arose. The Covid pandemic led to a nationwide lockdown. It’s like they have been stuck in the world’s longest lockdown.  

In the month of June 2020, after the Covid lockdown, announced at the end-March, began easing up, the tourism sector attempted a revival, with th

e administration holding awareness campaigns and roadshows. As the first wave of Covid began abating, tourists started arriving by December 2020. Over 125,000 domestic and foreign tourists—the highest in more than 17 months, arrived in Kashmir in the first four months of 2021. Hotels and houseboats saw heavy bookings as well.

Even though Kashmir tourism has been affected time and time again, it is still trying to revive and catch its breath. The only Muslim majority union territory of the country the constant political uprisings along with the already existing problems along the borders of the country shared by Pakistan, the fight to maintain normalcy becomes a tough job. But things seem better as Figures show 19,000 tourists visited the Union Territory in January 2021, compared to only 3,750 tourists visited Srinagar in January 2020.

The empty shikaras.
Source: Hindustan Times