Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 5: The tourism players in Valley are offering free food and accommodation to the tourists who had reached Kashmir but could not leave as the flights were cancelled.
The continuous snowfall for the last two days has left Kashmir out of bounds as the air, road connectivity remains cut off leaving several tourists who were in Kashmir on the New Year’s Eve stranded in several places.
Hoteliers, as well as the travel agents told Excelsior that they understand the situation of the many of tourists who might not be having enough money to stay in Kashmir for few more days and keeping that in view they are offering a helping hand.
Under the circumstances, while the Tourism Department has already issued helplines for the stranded tourists, many other stakeholders have gone an extra mile and have offered the tourists to stay at their homes and hotels if they want.
Officials of the Tourism Department said that they have circulated the helpline numbers through various mediums and that the stranded tourists can use the assets of the J&K Tourism Development Corporation.
Director, Tourism Department, Nisar Ahmad Wani, told Excelsior that the department has kept ready a good number of rooms at different locations. He said that the Department has reserved 15 rooms at Hotel Heemal, 15 more at TRC and 7 rooms at Yemberzal Guest House, TRC in Srinagar.
“Such tourists must get in touch with the department and they will be provided with the necessary assistance and that they can use the JKTDC’s hotels till there is an improvement in the weather; apart from that we have made arrangements for those who might be stranded in Pahalgam and Gulmarg,” he said.
Farooq Ahmad Kuthoo President, Travel Agents Association of Kashmir (TAAK) told Excelsior that they are in touch with such tourists and are doing everything possible.
“We must offer a helping hand to the stranded tourists who are our guests and for that, we have offered them to stay at our homes, while many other hoteliers have offered their hotels to the stranded tourists in Gulmarg as well as in Srinagar,” he said.
The members of the Association are also helping the Tourism Department in finding out such tourists who are stuck due to the cancellation of their flights amid snowfall.
Notably, many tourists were enjoying their trip in Kashmir on New Year and were scheduled to leave, however, due to the snowfall that started on January 3rd resulted in the cancellation of their flights.
A hotelier in Srinagar told Excelsior that there are several tourists stranded even in Srinagar while there were many who had to come but could not as the flights were cancelled.
“We have several such tourists with us right now whose flights were cancelled; we have given them the helpline numbers of the Tourism department while as we are also trying to help in whatever way possible,” Wahid Malik of hotel New Park in Boulevard told Excelsior.
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