J&K turned into tourism hotspot: MHA

NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has claimed that Jammu and Kashmir, which used to be considered as a “terrorist hotspot”, has now turned into a “tourist hotspot” as 22 lakh people visited the Union Territory (UT) in 2022, nearly four times more than the previous highest.

In its year-ender review report for 2022, the MHA noted that the number of terror incidents in J&K decreased from 417 in 2018 to 229 in 2021, while the number of security personnel martyred reduced from 91 in 2018 to 42 in 2021.

The tourist influx has given employment to thousands of youth, the MHA said. “There are no incidents of stone pelting in the Valley now as the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is moving ahead on the path of development with firmness. There has been about 54% reduction in terrorist incidents, 84% in the deaths of security personnel and about 22% in recruitment of terrorists in J&K,” it added.

Under the PM’s Development Package for Jammu and Kashmir, about 63 hydro-electricity projects have been completed at the cost of Rs 80,000 crore. The work on Kiru project, costing Rs 4,287 crore, is under progress, it added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had laid the foundation stone of 240 development projects worth about Rs 2,000 crore in Srinagar on October 5, 2022.