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| As Tourists flock Kashmir, poor infrastructure, lack of entertainment irks guests | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmed
Early Times Report
srinagar, July 15: As the tourists are flooding Kashmir at a time when valley's tourism sector was ailing and needed tourist arrival, poor infrastructure especially poor road connectivity and lack of entertainment avenues, especially in the evening, has left the guests, both foreign and domestic tourists disappointed.
With all the tourist place that include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, Mughal gardens in Srinagar, and house boats in the world famous Dal Lake in the heart of city abuzz with the tourists of every kind these days, many tourists have demanded that there should have been better roads in Srinagar and other areas that connect city with the tourist spots so that tourist feel the real joy of the travel they do in Kashmir.
"We are from Mahrashtra and there is a heat wave at present. The temperatures there are around 45 degrees and it is very hot there. Kashmir is cool. Here, temperature is just less than 30 degrees. It is really a paradise on the earth," said Anjali, who has come with her parents to spend 15-days vacation period here. While praising the hospitality of people of Kashmir, she said that there is no night life in Srinagar or elsewhere in Kashmir.
"We travelled to all famous tourist spots but found that there is a big problem of road connectivity. Majority of roads are in shambles and there are potholes after every two kilomteres. The only road link which we found worth travel was a new bypasses that connects Srinagar with the South Kashmir from Lasjan area."
Shewta Arora, a software engineer, from Madhya Pradesh, who has booked house boat in the middle of Dal Lake said that there is no place in the world better than Kashmir. "But roads have irked us a lot. There is traffic mess everywhere and less development. There is no source of entertainment during evening hours and no kiosks despite being the world famous tourist destination," she told Early Times.
These days tourists have occupied most of the hotels, houseboats, guest houses, lodges in Kashmir given the ongoing Amarnath Yatra and the tourist season. A tour operator at the Boulevard said that because of the heat wave across the country, tourist influx has increased to Kashmir of late. "We hope a bumper tourist season this year," he said.
Taking strong note of the concern expressed by the tourists, Governor Satya Pal Malik has directed the Srinagar administration to put in place kiosk of every kind along the Boulevard stretch and to set up sources of entertainment that include small musical evening shows on the Banks of Dal Lake so that tourists enjoy their evenings in Srinagar. |
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