The administration is being blamed for the coronavirus spread as it presides over the official and cultural gatherings in its bid to project normalcy in the former state, reports RIYAZ WANI
The daily tally of Covid-19 cases in Jammu and Kashmir is already twice the peak of last year. The surge, in part, is blamed on the administration presiding over the official and cultural gatherings in its bid to project normalcy in the former state, more so in Kashmir Valley.
Over the last month, the administration has held two music shows, one attended by the Bollywood biggie Badshah and two fashion shows. Besides, the government has been blamed for encouraging the tourists — both from J&K and outside the region — to flock to the Valley and also to Srinagar’s famous tulip garden, Asia’s largest.
On April 18, the administration imposed a night curfew to rein in the runaway Covid-19 infection. But the problem with this measure is that the conflict-ridden region has no nightlife. Markets close at 8 pm — earlier now in the fasting month of Ramadan- and the streets become deserted.
And while there’s night curfew, it is business as usual in the day, with no check on tourism. According to the Valley’s tourism department, 1.13 lakh tourists have arrived in the Valley since December. And this has been hailed as a positive development.
“We were happy at the sudden rise in tourist arrivals. This has been a boon for the battered sector,” said Nasir Shah, a major travel and tourism operator “People associated with the trade who lost jobs during the lockdown are getting these back. Renewed Covid-19 spike is threatening to play spoilsport again”.
But while tourism has been a boon, it has also been a bane so far as the renewed spread of coronavirus. The alarming rise in infection, experts fear could be due to mutated strains of the virus detected in states like Maharashtra.
According to the official estimates, the travelers and tourists who arrived in Jammu and Kashmir during the first three weeks of April account for 35 percent of the total infections recorded in the region during this period. The data shows that 3606 travelers and tourists have tested positive for the viral infection in April so far in J&K, 1593 of them alone in Srinagar. In March too, the percentage of Covid-19 positive travellers is more or less the same. This is seen as the reason why for much of March, 81 percent of the total Covid-19 infections in the union territory were reported from Kashmir valley, official data shows. This has forced the administration to order Covid-19 tests of even those travelling to Kashmir via road. The administration has also announced that there will be mass vaccination of hotel staff across Kashmir Valley.
