On World tourism day, Govt must rescue people associated with Kashmir’s tourism: Kadfeen


Srinagar September 27:(KNS) On world tourism day, Congress leader Kadfeen Choudhary has urged the government to take a holistic view towards the hardships being faced by the people associated with tourism in Kashmir who are without any source of livelihood for more than a year.

Kadfeen said that the miseries being faced by the people associated with the tourism sector in Kashmir are immense and if the government doesn’t come out to their rescue, these people will face starvation and dreadful times in near future.

He maintained that ahead of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir, the government issued an advisory for the tourists to leave Kashmir as soon as possible. “Since that time, the perception about Kashmir hasn’t been changed and the tourism industry is facing the most difficult crises at present,” said Kadfeen.

He added that on world tourism day, the government must devise a comprehensive mechanism to come to the rescue of those who have suffered due to the decline in tourist arrival here.

According to Kadfeen, there are 21 lac people who are indirectly dependent on Kashmir’s tourism. They include pony-keepers, taxi drivers, shikarawalas, helpers, tourist guides, shopkeepers, vendors, and fruit sellers In total an estimated number of 25 people are in Kashmir whose livelihood is directly and indirectly dependent on tourist flow in Kashmir. Handicrafts sector has a strong base for employment generation in Kashmir. There is a large number of Kashmir’s population dependent on this sector. As per the government records, there are 507372 establishments in the state and there are 1084295 artisans throughout the state consisting of 594090 (55%) hired and 490205 (45.21%) not hired workers. The male workers are 81.34% and the female workers are 18.66% in the state. It includes Carpets, Woolen shawls and Paper Machie which are mostly sold to the tourists who come to Kashmir. It provides employment to 58 percent of the population in Kashmir both directly and indirectly.(KNS) 

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