Amid growing tourism, can govt arrest slide in situation?

After years of no footfall of tourists in Kashmir valley, for the first time in February, the tourism industry here was brimming with confidence that this year, they will be having a huge tourist rush.

But the optimism was washed away to a great extent by some recent incidents, including the shootout at an eatery in the high security zone of Dalgate in Srinagar followed by another broad day shootout on the high security road of Srinagar Airport at Bazullah in which two cops were killed on the spot.

The frequency of gunfights has also increased in February and in the past two days, there have been several gunfights in which three terrorists and a cop were killed. The government is very keen to arrest this trend in slide of the situation and several high level meetings were held, including one on Saturday to plug the loopholes so that violence does not consume this tourist season also.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir range Vijay Kumar told the media that after several brainstorming sessions, they have finalized a summer strategy to ensure a peaceful tourist season in Kashmir.

“It is not feasible to divulge the details of the meeting, but we will ensure that there will be a peaceful summer in Kashmir and a good tourist season,” Vijay Kumar said in a press conference. Expressing concern over the recent tweets by political leaders in Kashmir valley, the J&K administration is trying to control the situation so that there is no instigation to youth to opt for violence. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir range Vijay Kumar said about the utterances of mainstream political leaders, “We won’t hesitate in preparing a dossier and if needed, action will also be taken against them.”