All compensated says Director Tourism, stakeholders say who?

By: Musaib Iqbal MK

Srinagar

In the recent past Director Tourism Kashmir has been claiming that he has compensated people related with tourism while stakeholders of tourism in Kashmir have questioned his claim.

“Government recently announced rupees 1000/m for shikara wallas only for two months and most of them have yet to receive this money” said Muhammad Hanief Bhat on one of the Ghats of Dal Lake to The Muslim Kashmir. He said that there are thousands of families connected with tourist trade and even for them to get the rupees one thousand they have to do the paperwork of at least 300 and move in the offices of the government including tourism for weeks before getting such assistance.

Most of the people connected with tourist trade in Kashmir have questioned the claim of the Director Tourism Kashmir and said that for photo ops and to get space in the media he is making false claims about the compensation.

The Tourism Sector has been hit badly in the past several years and the families connected with this trade have been reeling under financial distress.

In the past two days Director Tourism Kashmir through local news agencies has been highlighting the vaccination being done to the frontline workers of the tourism sector and during such media interaction he has claimed that all the families belonging to vulnerable sections of tourism have been compensated.