Once infiltration corridors, LoC villages in Kashmir now charm tourists

Tourism has begun to flourish along the border areas of Kashmir after guns fell silent along the Line of Control (LoC) in February 2021, due to the reiteration of the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.

The decision by the armies of the two countries to respect the bilateral ceasefire agreement has not only brought normalcy in the lives of thousands of people living on the two sides of the LoC and the international border in J&K, but also opened avenues of tourism for them.

Border areas like Keeran, Machil, Bangus, Tanghdar, Gurez, and Uri along the LoC in north Kashmir, which once were infiltration corridors for terrorists, are new tourist destinations which have been added to the list by the tourism department.

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People living in these areas have started to reap the dividends of peace with a good tourist footfall in the past month. With breathtaking views of hills and water tributaries, these places are being promoted as the adventure tourism destinations.

“A good number of tourists have started to visit Keeran, which had almost vanished from the tourism map due to constant shelling and firing. As peace has returned, tourists flow has slowly started to trickle in,” said Rafiq Ahmad, a local resident.

He said the beauty of the border areas was unmatchable and urged the government to promote it on tourist maps. “The view you get in Keeran can’t be found anywhere,” Ahmad added.

Uri in Baramulla district too has been receiving tourists with ‘peace in air’. Small dhabas, guest houses and homestay owners are making good money due to the flow of tourists. “We have been assured that tourists will come here. So, we have prepared homestays and made all the preparations for boarding and lodging for tourists,” said a homestay owner.

He said tourists even visit places like Kaman post and they appreciate the landscape of Uri. “The arrival of tourists has been given a flip to the fragile economy of the area and we hope and pray that peace prevails,” he added.
Pertinently, the tourism department in March added 75 new offbeat destinations to their list for promotion. Thirty-eight destinations are in the Kashmir region while 37 are in Jammu.

A tourist, who had returned from Keeran after staying for four-days said the journey and the stay was worth it. “I enjoyed every moment and can’t express my happiness. Away from the hustle-n-bustle of city life, such places offer solace and spending every moment here is worth gold,” he added.

Last September, Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence Ajay Bhatt during a meeting in Srinagar with tourism officials had assured that the central government was committed to promote border tourism in the region.

Prior to that in August, J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, while speaking at ‘Bangus mela’ had said that both the tourism department and the army will facilitate the visitors to remote places like Bungus in Kupwara.

At the same event General-officer-Commanding (GoC) of 15-Corp Lieutenant General assured that border places like Bungus were safe for tourists and they will help facilitate the administration in building tourist infrastructure in such areas.

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