J&K only state with zero crime record against tourists: Official

[Madplayer]

Jammu and Kashmir is “completely” safe for visitors and tensions in the border areas have “little effect” on its tourism circuit, a senior official of the northern state said in Kolkata on Friday. Describing the last year’s attack on Amarnath yatris as an “isolated incident to scare away visitors”, the director of the tourism department in Kashmir, M A Shah, asserted that such attempts will not succeed.

“Apart from last year’s attack on Amarnath yatris, there has not been any instance of violence in the tourism corridor of the state, spanning Jammu, Vaishno Devi, Sonemarg, Gulmarg or Ladakh, in the last one decade,” Shah, who led a delegation from the country’s crown state to Kolkata, told newspersons in Kolkata. He claimed that Jammu and Kashmir is the only state in the country which has zero crime record against tourists.

Shah also said that the state has registered one lakh foreign tourist footfall in 2017, while the number of domestic tourists crossed 1 crore. People from Gujarat comprised 30 per cent of the domestic tourists last year, while those from West Bengal were the second highest in number at 25 per cent. “Had it been unsafe, we would not have had so many foreign and domestic tourists visiting Kashmir,” Shah said.

The state has a dedicated a tourism police force to assist travellers, especially in Sonemarg and Gulmarg areas. “Kashmir is not just for holidaying in summer time, it is a round-the-year destination offering snowfall in the winter, blossoms in the spring, endless alpine meadows in the summer and the glory of crimson chinar trees in the autumn,” he added.

Source: https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/indi...ecord-against-tourists-official-5075665/lite/

As I have claimed again and again here on this forum, Jammu and Kashmir is the safest destination for tourists in South Asia as far as behaviour of local population is concerned. I would even go on to say that Jammu and Kashmir is the most secular state of entire South Asia where the locals help each other irrespective of their faith. This has been the case almost always in its history.

 

[Hitman]

Wasn't there news of an South Indian tourist succumbing to his injuries in Kashmir due to some locals pelting stones at him a few months back?

 

[enkidu_]

As per Al Biruni, in his times at least, Kashmiris refused the entry to their region to nearly everyone, apart from the Jews, and many have inferred from this fact that Kashmiris are linked with Jews, as some native traditions put it, like the Pakhtuns (later travelers, like the Europeans, like Francois Bernier, somehow said the same).

So I wonder when Kashmir became a sort of tourist destination ? I guess under the British.

 

[Madplayer]

Wasn't there news of an South Indian tourist succumbing to his injuries in Kashmir due to some locals pelting stones at him a few months back?

It was a one off incident and locals say it was an accident.

 

[Madplayer]

As per Al Biruni, in his times at least, Kashmiris refused the entry to their region to nearly everyone, apart from the Jews, and many have inferred from this fact that Kashmiris are linked with Jews, as some native traditions put it, like the Pakhtuns (later travelers, like the Europeans, like Francois Bernier, somehow said the same).

So I wonder when Kashmir became a sort of tourist destination ? I guess under the British.

The mughals used to visit Kashmir often.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Amarnath Yatra attack
Chennai boy killed by stone pelters
Karnataka tourist bus attacked
South Indian tourists robbed and made to chant Islamic/pro Pak slogans

All this from my memory of last couple of years. Sure Kashmir may do better on some fronts like gender violence, armed robbery, homicide, drugs etc but it is naive to call it 'zero crime record'.

And most secular state of South Asia LOL. Almost all non Muslims have been driven out of the valley, so where is the question of locals helping each other irrespective of faith. Even in Jammu and Ladakh regions there is palpable tension between religious communities. How many temples have been damaged in Kashmir Valley? 208 as per JK govt (https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/208-temples-damaged-in-kashmir-in-last-two-decades-kashmir-govt/story-s5dlIY9G8cM373tMK1S9GN.html).

When minority numbers are decimated to irrelevance it is delusional to call it secular. In rest of India minority population has increased manifold and minorities have attained positions of power. The challenge is when minority population can affect elections, social/cultural/economic power dynamics, once they are way too minuscule doubt majority will see them as a threat/problem. Hence why Shias are a bigger target than Hindus in Pakistan or Muslims are viewed suspiciously in the cow belt states as opposed to Christians/Sikhs.

Not wanting to disrespect OP or Kashmiris (they have suffered and Indians have oppressed large sections of Kashmiris over the years FACT) but secular JK is not. In fact it will figure in the bottom of the list. After the Pandit exodus which locals didn't care about, they have no moral right to judge any other community or state. Is there any process to rehabilitate the displaced? Was it tolerance and secularism that resulted in the Amarnath land transfer protests of 2010? In rest of India Hindus (and other non Muslims) have donated their own lands to support Muslim establishments like mosques and madrasas.

I would say Kerala is the most secular state in South Asia. States like Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Andhra, Telangana, Tripura etc should rank quite high. Even Bangladesh is making good process in this matter. The burden of secularism in South Asian context falls upon the shoulders of the majority because it is very easy for minorities to preach this concept. Bring a valley residing Hindu face to face with a Malayali Muslim/Christian and ask them about their thoughts, I am very sure who will say what.

 

[Swashbuckler]

edit: Even Bangladesh is making good progress in this matter

 

[JaDed]

Nice ..it was a huge till 80s IIRC, but over crowding would had happened if capitalism touched its core.

 

[good guy]

also j.k is number 1 in highest co2 from travel in india

 

[Napa]

Source: https://www.google.co.in/amp/s/indi...ecord-against-tourists-official-5075665/lite/

As I have claimed again and again here on this forum, Jammu and Kashmir is the safest destination for tourists in South Asia as far as behaviour of local population is concerned.

As it wasn't the "local population", it must have been troglodytes who killed these Western tourists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_kidnapping_of_Western_tourists_in_Kashmir

These 30 Hindu pilgrims must also have been killed by troglodytes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Amarnath_pilgrimage_massacre

I would even go on to say that Jammu and Kashmir is the most secular state of entire South Asia where the locals help each other irrespective of their faith.

Tell that to the butchered Pandits and other Hindus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Sangrampora_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Wandhama_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Prankote_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Chapnari_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Raghunath_temple_attacks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Nadimarg_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Doda_massacre

This has been the case almost always in its history.

Given its bloody past, very few tourists now visit Kashmir. You cannot commit a crime on a tourist if he/she isn't there.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Around 87 Lakh Pilgrims Visited Jammu's Vaishno Devi Shrine In 2022, Highest In 9 Years

Nearly 87 lakh pilgrims have paid their obeisance at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir so far this year, the highest in the past nine years, an official of the shrine board said on Saturday.

The inflow of the pilgrims is expected to pick up further in the coming days as the year draws to close, the official said, hoping that the figure may surpass 90 lakh by the end of December.

"Till December 6 this year, 86.40 lakh pilgrims visited the cave shrine for the blessings of Mata Rani - a manifestation of the Hindu mother goddess, Durga or Adi Shakti - which is highest annual figure in the past nine years," a shrine board official told PTI.

He said about 13,000 pilgrims on an average are visiting the shrine at present on a daily basis but the number is likely to go up in the coming weeks ahead of the new year celebrations.

The official said the highest number of more than 11.29 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine in June, while the lowest number of 3.61 lakh pilgrims offered their prayers at the temple in February.

Despite a stampede at the shrine on the New Year's Day that left 12 pilgrims dead and 16 others injured, January recorded a turnout of more than 4.38 lakh pilgrims.

More than 7.78 lakh pilgrims visited the shrine in March, 9.02 lakh in April, 9.86 lakh in May, 9.07 lakh in July, 8.77 lakh in August, 8.28 lakh in September, 7.51 lakh in October and 6.01 lakh in November, the official said.

Only 17 lakh pilgrims, the lowest in more than three decades, visited the shrine in 2020 when the shrine, for the first time in its history, remained closed for five months due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened for visitors on August 16 (2020).

From 13.95 lakh in 1986 when the shrine board took over the affairs of the shrine for better management, there has been a steady increase of pilgrim footfalls with each passing year, touching an all time high of 1.04 crore turnout in 2012 against 1.01 crore the previous year (2011).

The pilgrim arrivals at the shrine touched 31.15 lakh in 1991 and reached 74.17 lakh in 2007. However, the number dropped to 67.92 lakh in 2008 which was attributed to the two-month long Amarnath land row agitation but again went up to 82 lakh in 2009 and 87.2 lakh next year (2010).

The pilgrim arrivals dropped from 93.24 lakh in 2013 to 78.03 lakh in 2014 and further to 77.76 lakh in 2015 and 77.23 lakh in 2016. It increased to 81.78 lakh in 2017 and 85.87 lakh in 2018 but again dropped to 79.40 lakh in 2019 - the year when the central government revoked special status under Article 370 of the constitution to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the erstwhile state into the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

Following the first-ever stampede at the famous shrine, the shrine board in August introduced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) as part of various new projects sanctioned for the convenience of the pilgrims, better crowd management and tracking of the yatris along the 13-km track and the 'Bhawan' (sanctum sanctorum).

The official said the work on mega projects at Bhawan, including Durga Bhawan having provisions to accommodate 2,500 pilgrims on daily basis, and the Sky-walk, conceptualized by the shrine board to overcome the problem of multi-directional flow of yatra and a chaotic condition at Bhawan - are going on at full speed and are likely to be completed soon.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between National Highway Logistics Management Limited (NHLML) and Katra Development Authority that was inked on August 30 will create one-of-its-kind intermodal stations for the devotees bringing services like helipad, railway station, bus stand, auto stand, parking, five star hotels, and other modern day facilities at one place, the official said.

He said the underground cabling work from Katra to Bhawan and in the surrounding areas will have a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) compliance based monitoring system of the electric network.

With the implementation of this project, the existing LT/HT overhead electricity line will be replaced by underground cabling to ensure uninterrupted power supply along the track and in the Bhawan area.

NDTV