Srinagar, January 29, 2020 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, the abrogation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution by the Modi-led government on August 5, 2019, has affected the tourism sector in the territory. A website Indiaspend in a report quoting the estimate of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said that since August 5, 2019, a total of 144,500 people had lost their jobs in Kashmir’s tourism and handicrafts sector – mostly dependent on earnings from travellers. The overall job loss in the commercial space stood at 496,000, it added.
The website, which has analyzed the data from the tourism department, in its report said that tourist arrivals in occupied Kashmir fell after the India’s move, which came with a heavy troop deployment and communication clampdown.
Ghulam Jeelani, the manager of a hotel in Srinagar, told the website that a day before the abrogation of special status of occupied Kashmir under Article 370, his hotel was almost fully booked, with 63 of its 88 rooms reserved. However, the day after the announcement, the bookings fell to three, and have not risen since, according to the report.
Tourism accounts for 7 percent of Kashmir’s gross domestic product (GDP). “The back of Kashmir’s tourism sector has been broken because of the situation emerging after August 5, 2019. Tourism is in a shambles while artisans and weavers are jobless,” said Abdul Majeed, Vice President of KCCI. He said that trade without “favourable conditions and the internet” is “unimaginable” in the present-day world. He maintained that in one fell swoop, irreversible damage has been caused to the economy of occupied Kashmir; not a single sector has been spared.
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