Kashmir Safety in 2006

primrose

I visited Kashmir just after the floods in September 2006 and came back re-assured about the security situation. There is some hostility to the Indian army but, so far as I could tell, everyone welcomes tourists. And the presence of some 700,000 Indian soldiers must do something for the security of tourists - though there are rumours of the Indian army liking some unrest, because it justifies their presence.

Road conditions are generally better than in other parts of Northern India and I came away thinking that the time has come for European and American tourists to return to Kashmir. Meanwhile, the gap they have left is being slowly filled by tourists from South East Asia. This leaves the question of whether a country is better off without tourists. Maybe it is. But Kashmir needs additional income. Seeing the shores of Lake Dal fill up with sprawling junk (overhead wires, tacky adverts, trashy buildings etc) is regretable.

kazintrepid

Primrose,

Thank you for this post. I have travelled to Kashmir many times. I agree with your sentiments on the Indian Army presence I have been told what you stated by Indian Officers themselves. In additon Indian Army personnel get paid 3 times more when they are posted in Kashmir than if they are posted anywhere else in India. So there is a rather strong incentive for them to stay.

I tend to stay clear of Srinagar and head for the country where the countryside and mountains would have to be some of the most beautiful in the world and the hospitality of the local people is equal to what you find in Bali in Thailand.

Yogesh Sarkar

Srinagar is relatively safe for tourists, whether Indian or foreigners due to the sheer presence of Army and CRPF. However the road between Jammu and Srinagar road is quite dangerous due to the nincompoop local drivers who don’t mind running you off the road as long as they don’t have to slow down!

As for Army and CRPF, they are quite friendly even though they are posted in such a hostile environment.

Having said that Kashmir might be quite tense for coming days due to impending death sentence of a terrorist.

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lotus blossom

i lived in srinigar for a month last year, and though i was mostly on dal lake, being inland never made me feel uncomfortable, despite the bombings that do still happen there. (there were a few while i was there, but they are, regrettably, a part of the landscape).

i love phalagam, and highly recommend it. it is so beautiful and the people so welcoming that you don't want to leave.

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PeakXV

I'd wait to see Afzal's fate, before I book in the near future.

http://www.kmsnews.org/Kashmir%20New...s021006-10.htm

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We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

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