Echoes of terror leave tourists in Kashmir unsettled
On a partly cloudy Wednesday afternoon, Pune resident Rashmi Sonarkar and her family were leisurely strolling along the Boulevard road trying to soak in the beauty of the famous Dal Lake. But the events of the last 12 hours in Kashmir refused to let her be at ease.
The massacre of 26 persons by terrorists barely 100 km away weighed heavily on her mind. “We were also supposed to be going to Pahalgam yesterday, but decided to visit the Tulip Garden instead. The fact that we were planning to go where terrorists struck, killing innocent people, makes me shudder,” she remarked. And yet, for now, the family has decided to stay on.
The Sonarkar family is on a week-long trip to Kashmir but remains unsure and uncertain. “We know the security forces are in control of the situation, the government is trying its best to secure tourists, and above all, the common Kashmiri people are cordial and protective. But it’s just that the brutality with which they killed innocent people is refusing to get out of our minds,” said Rashmi’s husband.
The tourism graph in Kashmir has witnessed a spike in recent months, with the opening of the Tulip Garden adding to the lure. But the Pahalgam massacre is giving tourism stakeholders a nightmare. “In just 12 hours, everything has changed. Till yesterday afternoon, there was excitement all around; today, we are still trying to come to terms with what has happened. The killing of innocents has shaken the conscience of every Kashmiri, and it will take a long time to restore tourists’ confidence,” admitted a manager of a hotel on the Boulevard Road.
The heart-wrenching images of the massacre are haunting not just tourists but local residents as well. “No human being can resort to such barbarism,” commented Yusuf, a shikara operator.
Srinagar remained shut on Wednesday to express solidarity with the victims of the Pahalgam attack. There is an unnerving calm in the valley after the massacre, but some remain optimistic. A young couple from Karnal, working in Australia, decided to carry on with their Kashmir trip as they arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday. “Our families were dead against us going ahead with the trip, but we decided not to cancel. Hope sanity prevails and peace returns,” commented the husband as they moved towards another popular destination, Gulmarg. When asked if Pahalgam was on their itinerary, the reply came with a tense smile: “Why not?”
