Says before Article 370 roll back one couldn’t even dream about staying nights at LoC Villages; Those who can’t see peace, must spend some days at border villages to taste it; Credit goes to PM Modi, HM Amit Shah for creating peaceful atmosphere in J&K
Senior BJP leader and party’s J&K spokesman Altaf Thakur expressed his gratitude to the Centre and the UT administration for opening the border villages of Kashmir for domestic and foreign tourists stating that this wasn’t possible before the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
In a statement issued here, Thakur said it was a moment of pride for the UT administration and Centre to see foreign as well as domestic tourists thronging the villages closes to LoC in border areas that include Uri, Keran, Tanghdar, Teetwal, Gurez, and Machil. He said that since the ceasefire pact remains intact between the two countries, border villagers are happy to host foreign as well as domestic guests in their homes. “The huge arrivals of tourists from different states and countries in villages close to LoC in Kashmir is a clear indication that peace has started to become a permanent feature in Kashmir. One could have never imagined this before the abrogation of article 370,” he said.
Thakur said that home stays in border villages have become a source of income for the border residents who are feeling delighted over the development. He said that it was only possible due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendera Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as peace couldn’t be established till August 2019 in Kashmir. “Before roll back of Article 370, one could not even dream about visiting border villages of Kashmir and staying there for days together,” Thakur said.
The BJP leader said home stays in villages close to LoC in Kashmir is an eye opener for those who continue to claim that normalcy wasn’t visible in Kashmir. “My suggestion to those politicians who always point fingers at the UT administration and BJP, is to visit border villages and stay there for days together and feel the taste of peace,” he said.
He said that the Tourism department must also ensure proper facilities in border villages as 300 new offbeat destinations have been opened up for the foreign and domestic tourists,” he said. He said it was also a welcome development to see foreign tourist arrivals rising post G-20 event in the month of May. “Now the tourists from countries that were afraid of coming to Kashmir are coming in large numbers and also visiting remote and border areas of Kashmir,” Thakur said.
