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Terrorism or tourism: It’s your choice, PM Modi tells Kashmir youth

The Prime Minister urged the youth of the Valley to choose between “tourism and terrorism”, saying “40 years of bloodshed” has not done anyone any good. He promised to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the development of Jammu and Kashmir, and follow former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s slogan of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat (Kashmirism, democracy and humanity)” […]

Terrorism or tourism: It’s your choice, PM Modi tells Kashmir youth
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The Prime Minister urged the youth of the Valley to choose between “tourism and terrorism”, saying “40 years of bloodshed” has not done anyone any good.

He promised to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the development of Jammu and Kashmir, and follow former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s slogan of “Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat (Kashmirism, democracy and humanity)” to take the state to new heights.

 tourism

He said if the people of Kashmir had devoted 40 years to development of tourism, the Valley would have been blessed with a vibrant world-class tourist economy.

“I want to tell the Kashmiri youth, there are two paths in front of you which can determine your future; one is tourism, the other is terrorism.”

Modi drove in an open jeep through the all-weather route, which is expected to help trade and tourism in the region.

“This tunnel is not just the longest tunnel but a big leap for Jammu and Kashmir in terms of development,” Modi said, describing the engineering feat as the state’s “fate-line” that will translate dreams into reality.

Built at an altitude of 1,200 metres, the tunnel bypasses a dangerous hilly terrain of more than 30km of the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway — the sole surface link that connects Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.

The highway is blocked sometimes for hours and even days because of heavy snow, avalanches, monsoon rain and landslides.

It took engineers six years to build the 11km tunnel through treacherous Himalayan terrain at a cost of Rs 2,519 crore.

At the inauguration, where thousands of people have gathered, Modi’s message was clearly for the Kashmiri youth involved in stone-pelting at security forces, thereby risking their lives.

Militancy-hit Kashmir has been intensely restive since the killing of a popular militant leader, Burhan Wani, last summer that triggered a long unrest in which more than 80 people were killed and hundreds wounded in clashes with security forces.

Simmering separatist sentiments often prompt people to create hurdles during counter-militancy operations — trying to get close to the site of a gunfight between soldiers and militants, shouting slogans and throwing stones at the troops, allegedly to help the cornered insurgents escape. Several civilians have been killed of late in retaliatory firing.

According to military intelligence, the Pakistan establishment and anti-India forces across the border have been goading Kashmiris to disrupt counter-insurgency operations.

For his part, Prime Minister Modi hit out at the Pakistani leaders, saying “they can’t even take care of themselves”.

“Hum seema paar ke Kashmir ke nagariko ko bhi dikhana chahte hain ki pragati kaise hoti hai, vikas kaise hota hai. Aur jinhone aap par kabza kiya hai, aapko barbad kiya hai,” he said.

Basically, he told the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir that he wanted to show how progress is made and how their Pakistani rulers have ruined them.

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