2 crossing points along LoC opened for tourists
URI: Authorities have opened two crossing points — Kaman Post and Teetwal — along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border between India and Pakistan in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), for tourists as part of efforts to boost tourism beyond traditional popular destinations and ski resorts. Kaman Post has been given a new look with a 50-feet high national flag, viewpoints with binoculars, and a kiosk for local items, besides a new resting place.
Officials expect a temple built at Teetwal at the site of one of the base camps en route to the Sharda Peeth in PoK’s Neelam Valley to attract tourists. Sharda Peeth has been out of bounds for Indian pilgrims since the late 1940s when the first India-Pakistan war divided J&K.
In March, Union home minister Amit Shah virtually inaugurated the temple and said work for resuming the pilgrimage to Sharda Peeth on the lines of Punjab’s Kartarpur Corridor was on. Kartarpur Corridor was opened in 2019 for visa-free travel to the last resting place of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.
Assistant director (tourism) Zeeshan Khan said tourists would earlier only go to prominent places such as Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Pahalgam, and Doodhpathri. Officials said they are hopeful tourists visiting J&K will also visit Kaman Post and Teetwal. “And this year, footfall will increase manifold to these places as infrastructure is also being developed in north Kashmir especially homestay facilities for tourists.”
A footbridge connecting Teetwal with PoK was closed in 2018 amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan. Mohammad Sayeed, a local resident, said 20 to 25 houses have homestay facilities in Teetwal.
“With the opening of the temple, more tourists are expected to visit the village,” said Sayeed. “Four to five years back, nobody could have imagined this place will become a major tourist attraction.
The Army has relaxed restrictions for tourists. If the situation remains peaceful, this place is going to become a major tourist attraction,” said Sayeed.
He was referring to the situation along the LoC before the Indian and Pakistan director generals of military operations agreed to strictly observe a ceasefire along the de facto border in February 2021.
At Kaman Post, billboards have been put up depicting the history of the region since 1947 and pictures of local heroes and soldiers killed in action in the India-Pakistan wars and crossLoC shelling. A cafe has also been opened near the Kaman Aman Setu (bridge), which was until 2018 used for cross-LoC trade and travel.