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JAMMU & KASHMIR

remains anything but normal. An eerie calm prevails, so frag- traders hard. And if the situation goes on like this for months to
ile that everyone expects it give in sooner than later. Prepaid come, it will deal another big blow to Valley’s economy after the
phones and Internet remain suspended, something that is dis- one inflicted by the unrests of recent years.
couraging the potential tourists to visit the Valley. “Mere lifting of advisory by the government will not do. It
Tourism is one of the pillars of Kashmir economy, employing has to be urgently followed by the subsequent steps like restor-
thousands of people who have now been ing of prepaid mobile phones and the
rendered jobless. This is making the peo- internet,” says Ishfaq Ahmad Shah, a
ple associated with the trade curse their Tourism is one of the hotel owner. “But the government has
fate. 2019, they say, has turned out to be pillars of Kashmir been shying away from this. This is
one of the worst years for them. unlikely to work”.
And this certainly seems to be the economy, employing There are no separate figures about
case. Beginning February, nothing has thousands of people how much loss the tourism industry has
gone right for the Kashmir tourism and suffered over the past four months. Even
in turn the state’s economy. As the begin- who have now been the minister of state for home affairs
ning of the year started bringing tourists G. Kishan Reddy in response to questions
back to Valley, an escalation in India-Pa- rendered jobless. This in the Parliament recently had no data
kistan tension following Pulwama bomb- is making the people on the losses suffered by tourism in-
ing sent tourists packing and dissuaded dustry, even while he provided overall
people planning to visit to defer their linked to the trade number of tourists who visited the Val-
programme. Although by June, the situ- curse their fate. 2019, ley in past six months. He also didn’t give
ation had improved a great deal and the any specific number of visitors to Kash-
tourists had started returning, the repeal they say, has turned out mir since the lifting of a travel advisory
of Article 370 put paid to a promising sea- to be one of the worst in October.
son. In less than two days, Kashmir was
empty of all the visitors. This has hit the years for them LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

In recent past, several rumours and even tional and international media outlets. The government’s main concern is
news reports to the effect have turned Journalists get just enough time to check that the restoration of internet may give
out to be a hoax. People are losing hope and send mail. They have to travel long a platform to the dissident groups to air
that the government has plans to make distance to the Centre to do so. their views. Government also fears that
the service available in near future. Even the local newspapers don’t have the internet may be used as an instru-
Journalists have been the worst vic- internet access in their offices. They ment to organize a public response to the
tims of the internet gag. Srinagar’s Media download most of their content at the revocation of Article 370.
Facilitation Centre has just nine com- Media Centre on pen drives and repro- The situation in the Valley, however,
puters with wifi connection for around duce the same in their newspapers with hasn’t erupted in a sweeping ground-
three hundred journalists from local, na- some skeletal reports on the local situa- swell as was also expected. The people
tion. Government remains the dominant have largely exercised restraint. This
• Net trouble The overall absence of the source of information for the local peo- should have normally given the govern-
internet has disrupted life in the State ple. They get to hear it in local newspa- ment confidence to relax curbs. But this
pers which more or less toe the govern- hasn’t happened. And there are no signs
ment line or on satellite television which that this may happen in near future.
remains the only mass media freely There is now a chorus building up for
available in the state. In the absence of the government to at least start broad-
internet, people have no access to most band services which has a smaller pen-
of the reports filed by the journalists ac- etration. “As for as the internet is con-
tive in the state. cerned, least that the government can
In a statement, Kashmir Editors Guild do is to initially restore the broadband
has demanded the restoration of the connections,” wrote an editorial in a local
internet saying it was now becoming daily. “They are largely owned by the pro-
“impossible” to carry on like this. Over fessionals, media and business establish-
the past several months, journalists at ments and are thus not prone to misuse
Kashmir Press Club have held silent pro- as the government seems to apprehend.
tests but so far government has paid no
attention. LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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