“Our guests are unfortunately returning to their homes wrapped in shrouds.” Speaking at the funeral of Adil Hussain, the only local killed in the Pahalgam terror attack, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had this to say about 25 tourists from across the country being gunned down a day earlier. The impact of the attack on Kashmir Valley became clearer on Wednesday, as tourists clamoured to take the first flight or train home and popular destinations saw a sharp drop in footfall. Srinagar and several parts of J&K, meanwhile, observed a shutdown of schools and businesses to express solidarity with the victims. Senior government officials said “50-60%” of bookings for this season had been cancelled. At Pahalgam, where the daily footfall is 15,000 or more, just 100-odd tourists remained on Wednesday. At Gulmarg in North Kashmir, which sees a footfall of 10,000 a day, about 3,000 people visited on Wednesday. This is an area where Gondola tickets are sold out nearly a month in advance. Even in Jammu, footfall at the Vaishno Devi shrine and Shiv Khori in Bhaderwah dipped significantly. “In Katra, a special train has been arranged to get people who did not want to carry on with their visit to Vaishno Devi out,” an official said. Srinagar saw the footfall dip from 12,000 to 7,000 on Wednesday. Overall, for the Valley, an estimated daily footfall of 40,000 was down to 18,000 on Wednesday, officials said. The main highway link between Jammu and Srinagar, the NH-44, was meanwhile reconnected for traffic in a single direction. The highway had been washed away in some places because of flash floods that triggered landslides in the Ramban area. “It’s heartbreaking to see the exodus of our guests from the valley after yesterday’s tragic terror attack in Pahalgam but at the same time we totally understand why people would want to leave,” Omar wrote in a post on X. Kashmir hoteliers, meanwhile, appealed to people not to turn away from the Valley, saying Kashmiris have always welcomed tourists. In a post on X, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat wrote, “In light of yesterday’s tragic incident in Kashmir, many tourists are understandably anxious and reconsidering their travel plans. I’ve spoken to the concerned authorities and urged airlines, hotels, and tour operators to allow full refunds without hassle.” IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet cumulatively added seven flights from Srinagar on Wednesday for those wanting to return from the Valley. According to information provided by the aviation ministry, additional flights have also been kept on standby to cater to further evacuation needs. The government has also instructed carriers to avoid fare surge on Sringar flights and is actively monitoring airfares, which "are being kept at reasonable levels", according to Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu. All airlines have also waived rescheduling and cancellation charges on flights to and from Srinagar for a week. In the aftermath of the attack, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had told The Indian Express, “We are in the process of assessing the situation but we are already seeing an immediate impact of this incident across the board. Kashmir tourism has taken a big hit, but even in Jammu we are seeing an impact of this tragedy.”– With inputs from Sukalp Sharma
