Memorial to be built for Baisaran terror victims
Srinagar, May 27: In a significant move, J&K cabinet on Tuesday met at the tourist resort of Pahalgam, where 26 tourists lost their lives in a terror attack on April 22.
In a move to revive tourism which has been affected by last month’s terror attack, Omar Abdullah-led government convened a special cabinet meeting in Pahalgam to discuss several issues. This was the first cabinet meeting of Omar Abdullah-led government outside the UT’s twin capitals.
An official spokesman of J&K government said the meeting was held to demonstrate the resolve of the Government to restart normal routine in Pahalgam, send a welcoming message to tourists and to vehemently reject all kinds of violence and attempts to derail peace in Jammu & Kashmir.
“The choice of Pahalgam is aimed at expressing solidarity with the victims of terror attack at Baisaran on April 22, after which Kashmir including Pahalgam has witnessed a sharp decline in tourist footfall,” reads the official handout.
Sources said that cabinet decided to build a memorial in honour of tourists who lost their lives in a terror attack at Baisaran, Pahalgam.
The cabinet gave its go-ahead to Roads & Building Department for building the memorial. “The memorial will be built at Baisaran to pay tributes to the victims with their names inscribed on it,” a minister said.
He said the cabinet has also enhanced the Dearness allowance of employees by two percent, retrospectively from January 01, 2025.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, minister for Health Sakina Ittoo said that the cabinet condemned the terror attack.
She said the meeting was held at Pahalgam to express solidarity with families of the victims.
Won’t be intimidated by terror: Omar
Pahalgam, May 27: Tourism should be conflict neutral and should not be a barometer to project normalcy, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Tuesday after a special cabinet meeting here to give a clear message that the government will not be “intimidated by cowardly acts of terror”.
The chief minister, in his first press conference after the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran meadows in Pahalgam, began by expressing gratitude to people for unequivocally condemning terror violence.
The chief minister also said that steps are being taken to support the tourism sector by his administration and the Centre especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held a high-level meeting of stakeholders last week.
After the special cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the chief minister’s office posted on X pictures of the meeting held at the Pahalgam Club. In a message on ‘X’, his office posted that it was not just a routine administrative exercise, but a clear message “we are not intimidated by cowardly acts of terror.
“The enemies of peace will never dictate our resolve. Jammu & Kashmir stands firm, strong, and unafraid,” it said.
“Tourism should be a conflict-neutral activity and should not be a barometer to project normalcy. There are many other mechanisms through which we can measure peace. I would always wish to see that tourism is insulated from conflict and the world should see it as an economic activity,” he said.
