New Delhi: Union Minister G Kishan Reddy Thursday said Jammu and Kashmir registered a “record footfall” of tourists at airports and sightseeing places in the last several months due to the “transformative initiatives” of the Narendra Modi-led government like the abrogation of Article 370.
His remarks came a day ahead of the third anniversary of the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two union territories – J&K and Ladakh.
“Thanks to @narendramodi govt’s transformational initiatives like Abrogation of Article 370 TOURISM in J&K Gets Big Boost Record footfall of tourists at airports & tourist places Over 79 lakh TOURISTS Visited J&K between Oct 2021 and March 2022 (sic),” the union culture and tourism minister tweeted.
On August 5, 2019, the Centre ended the special status of J&K, and restrictions imposed in the region severely impacted tourism there.
In a major intervention for the upliftment of the tourism sector in J&K, the Centre allocated Rs 786 crore in the budget for the tourism sector there, Rs 509 crore higher than the last budgetary allocation, officials in Srinagar said in February 2022.
The officials said that the massive budgetary allocation was intended to boost tourism and allied services in J&K.