‘Heartbreaking to see exodus of guests’: Omar Abdullah says working to clear all stranded vehicles

Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said while he understood why tourists would want to leave the state at the moment, it is still heartbreaking to see them leave. Abdullah said the administration was working to allow smooth movement of vehicles leaving Srinagar as the road is still unstable in places. 

Abdullah’s comments come after tourists were reportedly cutting their vacations short and rushing to leave the state following the terrorist attack on Tuesday. Terrorists opened fire at civilians in Baisaran meadows, a popular tourist spot near Pahalgam. In what has been the deadliest attack in the valley since the Pulwama strike in 2019, 26 people, mostly holidayers, were shot dead. 

“It’s heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the valley after yesterday’s tragic terror attack in Pahalgam but at the same time we totally understand why people would want to leave. While DGCA & the Ministry of Civil Aviation are working to organise extra flights, NH-44 between Srinagar & Jammu has been reconnected for traffic in a single direction,” said Abdullah.

The chief minister added: “I’ve directed the administration to facilitate traffic between Srinagar & Jammu allowing tourist vehicles to leave. This will have to be done in a controlled & organised way because the road is still unstable in places and we are also working hard to clear all the stranded vehicles. We will not be able to permit completely free movement of vehicles at the moment & we hope that everyone will cooperate with us.”

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) also issued an advisory asking airlines to increase flight capacity from Srinagar and waive off cancellation and rescheduling charges for passengers impacted by the attack. 

Meanwhile, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti participated in a march of party leaders and workers to protest against the Pahalgam attack. Mufti along with PDP workers assembled at the party headquarters near Sher-e-Kashmir Park, carrying placards that read ‘this is an attack on all of us’, ‘stop innocent killings’. 

Many organisations – trade, political as well as religious – have called for the people in the state to protest against the attack on the innocent tourists. This led to shops, fuel stations, private schools and other business establishments putting down their shutters for the day.