Srinagar, June 23 (IANS) Congress leader and Member of Parliament, Renuka Chowdhury, said on Monday that in order to send a reassuring message to the people of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, whose livelihoods suffered due to the terror attack on April 22, the next set of Parliamentary Standing Committee meetings should be held at Pahalgam.

The Congress leader was reacting to a comment posted by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, who visited Pahalgam on Sunday.

The Chief Minister had expressed satisfaction that the efforts to revive tourism in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in Pahalgam after the terror attack, had started giving positive results.

He said on Sunday on X, “The last time I was in Pahalgam I cycled through a market that was all but deserted. Today I came back to a Pahalgam that was bustling with activity.”

“Tourists from various parts of the country competed for space with local picnickers who were enjoying the cool climate & rainy weather. It’s very satisfying to see the efforts my colleagues & I have been putting in slowly bearing fruit,” he added.

Reacting to the Chief Minister, Renuka Chowdhury on Monday said, “It should be our collective endeavour and parliamentarians to ensure that the next set of standing committee meetings should happen in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam. Let the people of this beautiful part of India feel we are together in this.”

“We owe to them to return livelihoods,” she added.

In the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 civilians, including 25 tourists and a local pony owner, were killed by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, a booming tourist season had suddenly come to a grinding halt.

All hotels in Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Srinagar city had become deserted as houseboat owners, shikarawallahs, taxi operators and those connected with tour and travel industry lost their livelihood suddenly.

The Jammu and Kashmir government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah worked pro-actively by inviting leaders of the tour and travel industry, personally visiting various tourist places to convey a strong message about safety and security and by using all the government’s resources to revive tourism.

The effort appears to be bearing fruit as the impasse has been broken and in small numbers tourists have started returning to Kashmir.

The local police and other security forces have redoubled their security preparedness and Kashmir is once again emerging as the dream destination of the domestic tourists.

Foreign visitors are still hesitant to come here and it is hoped that they would soon realise that this destination is as safe as any other on the global tourist map.

–IANS

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