After Pahalgam attack, 48 tourist sites in Kashmir shut due to security concerns
Forty-eight of the 87 public parks and gardens in the Kashmir Valley have been closed to the public in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, PTI reported on Tuesday, quoting unidentified officials.
The destinations that have been closed for inadequate security measures include the Gurez valley, Dodapathri, Verinag, the Bangus valley and Yusmarg, according to The Indian Express.
The authorities have also decided to bar tourists from visiting Srinagar's Jamia Masjid.
While the authorities have not issued a formal order about the closure, entry to these places has been stopped, PTI reported.
The decision comes a week after the terror attack at Baisaran on April 22 left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
On Saturday, the Kashmir Hotel Association in Srinagar said that 80% of tourist bookings in the valley have been cancelled in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
'There have been 80% cancellations in bookings,' said Mushtaq Chaya, chairperson of the association. 'We can understand. It is justified and natural given what happened.'
Stakeholders in the tourism industry in the Union Territory were not worried by the dent to business, Chaya said, adding that they were 'sad with the fact that the incident took place on our soil'.
India's Ministry of External Affairs had on April 24 also announced that the visas of Pakistani citizens in India would stand revoked from Sunday and that they had to leave the country before then. India also suspended visa services to Pakistani citizens with immediate effect.
Following this, at least 537 Pakistani citizens left India through the Attari-Wagah border crossing in Punjab.
Eighty-one Pakistani nationals left India on Saturday, 191 on Friday and 28 on Thursday. In addition, 342 Indians returned on Saturday, 287 on Friday and 105 on Thursday.
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