NL Correspondent
SRINAGAR: The horticulture and tourism sector, the backbone of the state economy have been witnessing heavy losses by the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.
Director Tourism Kashmir Mehmood Shah said that Kashmir has zero tourism activity at present and the sector has witnessed hundred percent losses this season.
“With the unrest in the Valley, tourism sector has seen hundred percent loss and no tourists are presently in Kashmir,” Shah said.
He added that last year, “lakhs of tourists had visited valley but this year, the crisis and the current situation is a huge setback for the sector.”
“We received 10 lakh tourists last year but unfortunately this year we have 100 percent loss in the sector,” he added.
“The tourists prefer other destinations because of the prevailing situation in the valley,” the director said adding that “Tourism is subsequent to peace, the only thing in tourism is when there is assurance of peaceful environment, As the conditions in the Valley turned worse all the tourists have left,” Shah said.
Bashir Ahmad Basheer, chairman of Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Union said that the fruit growers have suffered exponentially during the current crisis in the valley.
“We have a huge loss of Rs 800 to 900 crore as government has imposed restrictions on the vehicular movement,” he said.
Basheer asserted that the prevailing condition in the Valley has substantially reduced the number of fruit trucks exported outside Kashmir.
“Earlier we would export 250 trucks of fruit to outside markets daily but at present we are only able to send 15 to 20 trucks which is a huge setback for the sector,” said Basheer.
Fruit harvesting has just started in the valley but the given the hindrances caused due to restrictions prevailing situation in the valley has led that fruit varieties could not be shipped on time which has inflicted crore of losses to the industry.
Basheer also turned down the claims of Horticulture department that ‘hundreds of fruit trucks have been dispatched to markets outside the state in the current month.'
“No such number of trucks have been dispatched to outside mandis as state is suffering huge losses due to prevailing situation,” he claimed.
