Kashmir Valley, thousands of tourists are gathering at the time of the second wave of Covid – the world’s biggest surge – is sweeping through the country. On Srinagar’s Dal Lake, shikaras have come alive and footfall at the tulip garden is growing by the day. Most tourists say that Kashmir seems the best possible place.
The officials at the tourism department said more than 1 lakh tourists have visited the Valley since December, at the time when the daily Covid wave in Kashmir passed 1,200. The Valley reported 1,269 cases on Tuesday.
“We found an opportunity and thought we should invite people here. We have seen Covid management is very well in Jammu and Kashmir and that’s how it picked up December onwards,” said Dr GN Itoo, the director of tourism Kashmir.
“Let me inform you that so far, 1.13 lakh tourists have visited,” he added.
Priya Kotecha and her father Major Manoj Kotecha have gone all the way from Gujarat because their trip to see the Dal lake and Tulip garden was long delayed.
“As you know, there are constraints in international travel. People are preferring domestic places. Actually, we had made plans to come here a long time ago. Everything was booked. All of a sudden there was the Covid surge and we were in a dilemma whether we should come or not,” Priya Kotecha told NDTV.
There is no other place better than Kashmir to visit at post-retirement period, her father added.
“After my retirement, I decided to visit Kashmir. Before coming, we took the RT-PCR test and also the antigen test once we reached here,” said Manoj Kotecha.
Many visitors said that with constraints on international travel, Kashmir has become a good option for them.
For those who run hotels, it has come as a blessing, especially after lengthy curfews and shutdowns in the wake of scrapping of Article 370 and the following lockdown last year over the Covid outbreak.
Many of them said their businesses are improving at last.
“It started in December. In hotel industry, people who lost their jobs and livelihood are getting their jobs back,” said Mushtaq Chaya, chairman of the Hoteliers Association.
“But the way Covid is spreading in Maharashtra and Gujarat, it is having an impact on tourist arrivals,” he added. Over the last few days, bookings have been cancelled as well.
During the second wave on COVID-19, the Jammu and Kashmir government has closed all schools and is making all attempts to bring tourists to the Valley.
The government has been scrutinised for arranging a tulip festival in Srinagar last week and allowing thousands to visit the garden every day.
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