Youth of Kashmir must decide between tourism and terrorism: PM Modi

Urging youth of Kashmir to shun violence, Modi said they can chose between terrorism and tourism. “The path of bloodshed has not helped any one and will never help anyone. Youth of Kashmir have a choice to select one of the two paths- one of tourism the other of terrorism,” said Modi. He also told the Kashmiri youth that if they ignore the “invaluable tradition of sufi culture”, they would “lose the present and put your future into darkness”.

Condeming the violence due to militancy in Kashmir, the prime minister said it has badly affected the Valley. “40 saal ho gaye anek nirdosh logon ne jaan gawayi, kisi ka fayda nahi hua. Agar lahu luhan hui toh meri Kashmir ghaati hui hai. Isi 40 saal mein agar tourism par bal diya hota toh aaj poori duniya Kashmir ghaati ke charnon mein aakar baithi hoti. “Over last 40 years, there has been lot of bloodshed. My own Valley has been blood-soaked, my Kashmir’s beloved youth, my Hindustan’s beloved youth. Nobody has benefitted from this bloodshed,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

He again invoked former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s slogan of ‘Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat (Kashmirism, democracy and humanity)’ and said this “prime motto” will be used for taking the state to new heights of development and “no obstacle can stop us”.
“Kashmiriyat Insaniyat Jamhooriyat ke moolmantra ko leke hum Kashmir ko vikas ki nayi unchaiyon par leke jayenge,” said Modi.

The tunnel, that connects Udhampur and Ramban districts of Jammu and Kashmir, bypasses a dangerous hilly terrain of over 30 km of the strategic Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The 10.98 km long tunnel built at a cost of over Rs 2,500 crore is situated at an altitude of 1,200 metres. It has traffic and fire control systems, video surveillance, FM connectivity and transverse ventilation systems.

In addition to saving nearly two hours of travel time, the passage of traffic through the tunnel will result in a daily saving of Rs 27 lakh in terms of fuel used by vehicles. The tunnel, which took over five years to build, will also bypass some 44 avalanche – and landslide -prone spots on the nearly 300-km-long highway.