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| Other side of HR violations: repeated shutdowns | | | NIRBHAY JAMMUAL
Jammu, June 8: It is the tussle between peace and unrest in Kashmir. Today peace hangs by a thin thread in the valley and the next day it is violence. Hardliners in the separatist camp, led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, say that their agitation against the alleged rape and murder of two women, Asiya and her pregnant sister in law, Neelofar in Shopian, in south Kashmir, will neither hit the tourist traffic to Kashmir nor the pilgrims march to the holy cave of Amarnath .They are mistaken. Tourists travelling to Kashmir spend thousands of rupees, if not lakhs, on their sojourn in Kashmir. Whether these tourists book rooms in the hotels or houseboats their interest lies in moving around the valley visiting the famous Mughal gardens and other tourist resorts. Besides this they are keen to move out for shopping. They wish to purchase fresh and dry fruits, handicrafts, carpets and other items.And if the shops are shut and the transport services are off the road what is the compulsion for them to stay in Srinagar. And whenever Kashmir is rocked by unrest,violence and shutdown during the tourist season excursionists to the valley usually cut short their stay to the dismay of traders, transporters, hoteliers and houseboat owners. Those who are to visit Kashmir cancel their reservation in hotel rooms.
This is what happened in Kashmir during the first week of June. The six-day long shut down, unrest and violence forced large groups of tourists to cut short their stay. Within a day of the unrest the daily tourist arrival dipped from 5,000 to 1,000.In the past also tourist coaches were attacked resulting in the sudden drop in the tourist traffic to Kashmir. But the separatists and their supporters do not seem to be bothered about the impact of slump in tourist traffic on the economy of those connected with tourism. For full month of May one could feel that hoteliers, houseboat owners and transporters besides traders having reason to rejoice. For the first time in 20 years the occupancy rate in hotels and houseboats was cent per cent. Prior to the rise of militancy tourism would fetch over Rs.1500 crores to the state. This was the outcome of the expenses tourists incurred on board and lodge, on shopping and on transport.And most of the people connected with tourism could lead a comfortable life from the earnings during three to five month long tourist season.
If one takes into account the impact of pilgrim traffic to the state on the conomy one would feel surprised when told that pilgrim traffic yields more dividends for the traders, transporters, porters and hoteliers. Even if each pilgrim to Mata Vaishnov Devi spends Rs.1,000 once he or she is in Jammu one can easily imagine the boost the state's economy can receive when over 55 lakh pilgrims visit the shrine each year. Similarly if each pilgrim to Amarnath cave spends Rs.5,000 one can easily calculate its healthy impact on the economy of the state. Well it may be separatists or it may be general public both have the right to register their protest against human rights violence or excesses or on any other issue. They have the right to give vent to their anger in the streets. But they are not serving the state if they continue to put people, pilgrims and tourists to lot of inconvenience. If the separatists have the right to protest against human rights violations people have the right to earn their livelihood and if this right is denied to them it also amounts to human rights violations. It is no longer a secret that politicians,whether they belong to the mainstream or to the separatist camp, have more than one source of income. They know it well that if there is a call for Kashmir Bandh for a fortnight they would not feel any pinch whereas the common people suffer. Giving repeated calls for shutdown and inciting a section of people to violence are glaring examples of human rights violations. Will the separatists protest against it ? Possibly not because they thrive on Bandhs. They usually do not believe in "Boli" but in "Goli". It was Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who had succeeded in improving the security environment in the state with his emphasis on "Boli" and not on "Goli. "He laid stress on the importance of ballot and decried the policy of bullet for bullet. Let now the separatists give weightage to "Boli" and ballot instead of "Goli" and bullet.
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