G20 Nations Land in Kashmir, Valley Turns Into Fortress

Srinagar: Members from the G20 nations on Monday arrived in the Jammu and Kashmir capital city of Srinagar to attend the 3rd tourism working group meeting amidst heightened security arrangements.

China has skipped the event but officials of the G-20 said that all the other countries attended the meeting. Some of the countries were, however, represented through trade delegates and tour operators, like Saudi Arabia. Egypt, which holds the invitee status this year, has stayed away from the visit.

As many as 61 delegates landed at the Srinagar airport following which they arrived at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). The delegates attended a programme on film tourism for economic growth and cultural preservation on the sidelines of the event at the venue where South Indian actor K Ram Charan made an appearance. 

This is the first major global event being organised in the region in decades especially after the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A were carried by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) government. India assumed the Presidency for the G 20 last December from Indonesia to host about 250 meetings in over 60 cities across the country. So far, nearly 115 meetings have been hosted with the most recent being organised in Srinagar, according to G20 officials. 

The government had been preparing for months to host one of the meetings in Kashmir and have since carried out major infrastructure projects aimed to facelift Srinagar. Some of these newly renovated spots in the city will likely be visited by the delegates. 

Ahead of the meeting, the security arrangements across the region were heightened with each part of the city brought under heavy security control to thwart any possible acts of sabotage. The venue near the picturesque Dal Lake in Srinagar was closed down for normal commute as part of the security measures. The schools in the city were also closed down for the event.

Massive personnel from Jammu and Kashmir police, paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Army soldiers were positioned across to increase the vigil for the visit. The security checkpoints were also modified with G20 signboards and many of these security personnel stood guard behind these signboards. 

During the side event, the delegates were apprised of the potential of Kashmir valley as a destination for film making. 

"Kashmir is the finest destination for films and romance in the world and no romance is complete in India without Kashmir. As many as 370 movies have sought permission for movies," India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said claiming that the meeting in Kashmir has had an "overwhelming" response. 

"The meeting in Kashmir is very important for us as we believe in peace and prosperity for everyone," Kant added. 

Union minister Jitender Singh said that the holding of meeting in Srinagar is an achievement. Singh said that whenever such an event was scheduled in Kashmir, there was a hartal (strike) call from Pakistan and the shops would be shut but that has changed this time. 

"Jammu and Kashmir has moved on and the common man has moved on. He has seen two generations of Kashmiris being sacrificed to Pakistan sponsored terrorism and he is in no mood to succumb to that anymore," Singh said while addressing the media. 

Union Minister of Tourism G K Reddy said the government will be soon coming up with the national tourism policy in India adding that the government is also planning to hold India's first global tourism investment summit.