Stone pelting on tourists kids has affected Kashmir s good name tourism education

 

Extension of the stone-pelting activity has given Kashmir a bad name On May 2 last, Kashmiri youngsters launched an attack on a bus carrying 50 school children in the Zawoora village of Shopian The stones injured two kids. One of these was a class 2 student. He received head injuries and needed to be taken to SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, His father, Rehan Gorsai, told newsmen that such stone-pelting events are acts against humanity in another incident, that day, stones were pelted on a motorcar carrying tourists on the Awantipora Bijbehara road In that incident, three tourists got injured Smt. Ritu Devi, of Mumbai, had a serious head injury.

On may 7 last, R. Thirumani a tourist from Tamil Nadu, was killed and two members of his family, including his mother, were injured when their cab was attacked by stone-pelters at Narabal, on the Srinagar-Gulmarg highway The family was on its way to the Gulmarg tourist destination.

On hearing such news some other intending tourists, who desired to visit Kashmir, to avoid the heat of the Indian plains, cancelled their programmes. Some of them had booked travel and boarding arrangements. They cancelled these This enlarged the tourist traffic to Mussoorie. Such a large number of tourists reached Mussoorie that they did not find hotel accommodation. Restaurants and hotels of that area declined to accept more customers, telling them politely, that the area was brimful of tourists and more of them could not be accommodated there. During the month of May, 8.884 tourists were turned back. In June, 22.033 visitors will have to go back because of lack of accommodation in Mussoorie hotels, Many intending tourists have started a search for going to tourist spots other than Mussoorie and Kashmir

The valley's violence had had an unpleasant effect on Kashmir's economy Some tourists, who had booked accommodation in Kashmiri hotels and house-boats cancelled these. Some such tourists told us that they wanted to visit Kashmir to save themselves from the hot temperature of their usual inhabitants, but Kashmiri youngsters, who pelt stones, are endangering their lives. One of them was more candid. He explained I don't want to carry my family to Kashmir to provide cannon fodder to stone-pelling there. He added We were of the opinion that the people of Kashmir valley are secular like the rest of the country, but in practice we find they want to have a polity of the ISIS. They want to cause destruction in the manner it has been caused in Iraq and Syria. We go to a tourist place to enjoy and to forget the worries of the past eleven months. The Kashmin boys are trying to inflict injuries on us which will take us another 24 months to heal. Why should we go to such an unpredictable place?

Besides tourism, stone petting has made education, in Kashmir, a target during the current phase of violence. Schools have been shut down many a time Bandhs have been endless Kashmir society was regarded to be a civilised one but vested interests exploit the situation. They denude students to fulfil the separatists ends. It was, also noticed that in 2016, separatists ensured a shutdown of the valley for months, which hurt two million students' education. Twenty-five schools were burnt. At the same time separatist leaders' children continued their education undisturbed at premier institutes

The Chief Minister's policy of providing amnesty to stone pelters has not ensured the desired result. It was expected to inculcate lawful behaviour among the young. The opposite has happened. In addition to security forces, tourists and children have been attacked. The Chief Minister should make it clear to law breakers that they will be brought to book. Kashmir has seen enough of violence It, now, needs peace, prosperity and economic and educational progress.

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Courtesy:-    Jagannath Dhar and koshur Samachar May 2018