Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that he will raise the issue of closed tourism destinations with Home minister Amit Shah during his upcoming visit to the Union Territory.
Responding to a supplementary question of Congress MLA Nizam Uddin Bhat, Abdullah said it is correct that some tourist destinations are still closed post the Pahalgam terror attack.
“I believe the time has now come to reopen them. From the government’s side,
discussions with the Government of India on this issue
are ongoing. The Home minister is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir in the coming days, and I assure the House, and especially the MLA from Bandipora, that this issue will certainly be discussed with him,” the CM, who also holds the tourism portfolio, said.
Nearly 50 tourist destinations were shut down by the LG administration after terrorists shot dead 26 tourists in Pahalgam on April 22 last year. Over a dozen destinations reopened in September, but many continue to remain closed.
Earlier replying to another question, the CM said since the rules governing the registration or renewal of all tourism units have been framed in 1978, as such, the Tourism department is in the process of revising the J&K Tourist Trade Rules with a view to further simplify, rationalise and streamline the registration and renewal framework for all tourism units.