Bid to revive tourism, review yatra arrangements
*DA on agenda, Deptts submit their proposals
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 26: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will chair Cabinet meeting at Pahalgam on Tuesday and a meeting of Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers at Gulmarg on Wednesday to give a message of peace and normalcy to the tourists who mostly deserted the Valley after April 22 Baisaran (Pahalgam) terror attack in which 26 civilians including 25 tourists and a local were killed.
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This is for the first time in the present Government that the Cabinet meeting is being held away from the Civil Secretariat or the Chief Minister’s residence in Jammu and Srinagar.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Cabinet meeting is scheduled to be held at Pahalgam tomorrow noon. All Ministers, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Additional Chief Secretary to CM Dheeraj Gupta and some Administrative Secretaries to whom the agenda items pertained have been sounded in advance to reach Pahalgam for the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet meeting on Tuesday will be followed by high-level meeting of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister with top bureaucrats including the Administrative Secretaries and other senior officers at Gulmarg, another prominent tourist spot, on Wednesday.
The meeting is scheduled to discuss and finalize various developmental works, welfare measures and other issues pertaining to the people.
“Arrangements for Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrimage starting July 3 and lasting till August 9 are expected to figure prominently in both the meetings,” the sources said.
Dearness Allowance to the Union Territory Government employees and pensioners which is due from January 1, 2025 is among items on the Cabinet agenda, the sources said, adding the DA is likely to be cleared.
Two percent DA is due to Government employees and pensioners from January 1, 2025.
Some of the Government departments have also submitted their departmental items for approval of the Cabinet.
Once the agenda items are cleared by the Cabinet, they will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval.
“Idea behind holding back-to-back high-level meetings at two major tourist spots of Kashmir including Pahalgam and Gulmarg is to send a message across the country that there is peace and normalcy in Kashmir and that Shri Amarnath Ji pilgrims as well as tourists can now return to the Valley,” the sources said.
Tourists mostly deserted Kashmir after April 22 Pahalgam terror attack followed by Indian Armed Forces’ strikes deep inside Pakistan and PoJK from May 7-10 decimating terror infrastructure and causing huge damage to military bases there.
Both the Central as well as UT Governments are trying their hard to bring back tourists to the Valley. However, the focus will now shift to annual pilgrimage of Shri Amarnath Ji in South Kashmir Himalayas from July 3 lasting 38 days.
Pahalgam, where the Cabinet meeting is being held, happens to be one of the base camps of Shri Amarnath Ji yatra. Baltal in Ganderbal district is another base camp.
Tourist arrival to Kashmir had broken all records from 2022 to 2024 and this year the Government was expecting boom in the tourism. Already, a large number of tourists had started visiting the Valley but after Baisaran terror attack, the tourists left and very few are now coming.
Also, pilgrimage to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra has taken a hit after Pahalgam terror attack. While daily arrival of pilgrims to Katra, the base camp of the shrine in Reasi district, which was 35,000 to 40,000 daily before the terror attack, went down to just 5,000 at one time. However, it has once again started picking up.
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