On the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a massive positive change during the last three years.
"Restoration of faith and trust among people of Jammu and Kashmir is the biggest achievement during the last three years", the Lieutenant Governor told media persons at Srinagar. He said that the common man in J&K is feeling a positive change in his life and people's faith in the system has been restored.
"The J&K, which was earlier infamous for stone-pelting, is now famous for start-ups and other developmental initiatives", he said.
"Stone pelting, hartals, and bandhs have become a history in the Jammu and Kashmir", he said.
"There has been a major change in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. Now, there is no stone pelting, hartals, and bandhs. All this has become a thing of the past", the Lieutenant Governor said.
Influx of over one crore of tourists is an indication of changing Kashmir
Lieutenant Governor said that during the last three years the Jammu and Kashmir government has earned the trust and faith of the people across the country. It is the result of this trust that over one crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir.
"There is a complete peace and Jammu and Kashmir is moving fast towards development and because of the Prime Minister, Jammu and Kashmir is becoming a Naya Kashmir," he said.
Important to mention here that Union Minister for Tourism G Kishan Reddy said over one crore tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of 2022.
The Minister told the Parliament on July 31, "As a result of the initiatives taken by the J&K Government in private as well as government sectors, there has been a significant hike in the tourist footfall despite COVID challenges."
In 2020, the tourist footfall was 41,267, which has gone up to 1.05 crore during the first six months (January-June) of 2022.
No band, no hartal in Kashmir
Despite provocation from across the border, life is going normal in Jammu and Kashmir on the third anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370.
Although some little-known groups have called for observing hartal, there is no taker of such calls. All markets are open and normal life is going smoothly across the UT,
Additional Director General of Police Kashmir Zone, Vijay Kumar on Friday said that as J&K marks the 3rd anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, there has been no hartal call or any stone pelting incident at the encounter in the last three years.
Kumar said that after the abrogation of article 370, neither any hartal call was witnessed, nor any stone pelting incident at the encounter site. He also said that there had been no processions in funeral and burial over the last three years.
