Omar Abdullah says tourists spots closed after Pahalgam attack need to be reopened
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said his government's efforts to bring back tourists to the Union territory can work only after the tourist spots closed in the wake of Pahalgam terror attack are reopened.
"First, we have to reopen those places which have been shut. We did not shut these places in 35 years. When the militancy was at its peak, Drang or Doodhpathri were not closed, the upper areas of Gulmarg were not shut, Aru valley was not closed," he told reporters here.
Abdullah said some courage is needed to be shown and open tourist spots and promote them effectively.
Addressing criticism that his government was focusing too much on tourism, the chief minister said, "We are trying at our own level despite the fact that we are subjected to taunts that why are we doing so much tourism promotion?
"We know that homes of lakhs of people depend on it and we want tourism to be restored to the level that was there before the Pahalgam attack."
The chief minister said his government has sent teams outside the country to promote tourism, pointing out that a big delegation is in Singapore to restore tourism from Southeast Asia. They will also go to Berlin and London next month for tourism promotion, he added.
"If we talk about within the country, Nasir (Aslam Wani) had recently gone to Udaipur for promotions. We are not leaving any stone unturned . I cannot say that the Centre has not supported us, but, the reality is that unfortunately, we are talking in two voices from within J-K.
"On one hand, the elected government talks about tourism promotion, but on the other, the unelected government has kept a large part of Kashmir closed for tourism," he said.
Abdullah said if they is afraid to reopen famous resorts like Doodhpathri, Drang and some parts of Gulmarg, "it means there is danger. That is the reason the tourists are not coming."
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Bengaluru: Four arrested for housebreaking, threats, extortion; fake PSI among accused
Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.
Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.
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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.
On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.
Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.
