'Excellent. I'm Also Tempted...': What PM Modi Said to Twitter User Urging Him to 'Must Visit' Kashmir

“Excellent”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday as he shared a picture of his visit to Srinagar in 2019 in response to a tweet urging him to visit Kashmir.

“Excellent. I’m also tempted to share a picture from my visit to Srinagar in 2019,” the prime minister said in a tweet, sharing a picture of himself beside the Dal Lake in Srinagar in response to Twitter user Ranjeet Kumaar.

Kumaar had, earlier in the day, shared pictures of his recent trip to Kashmir valley and claimed that after 45 years, several regions are still beautiful and urged Modi to “must visit.”

“I visited Kashmir late last month,after 45 years of my visit as student and found those places like Baisaran, Aru, Kokernag, Achhbal, Gulmarg, Srinagar still very beautiful . Only that Char Chinar in the Dal Lake has one old chinar tree. People have same warmth. Must visit,” Kumaar said in a response to the Prime Minister’s earlier tweet hailing record number of tourist footfall in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Wonderful news! Compliments to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their warmth and hospitality,” PM Modi had said in a post on Friday in response to a tweet by the government celebrating “record number of tourist arrivals,” change and developments in the Union Territory.

“Tourism sector in J&K is being developed as per the vision of sustainable development goals and focus is being given to strengthen the hospitality segment & for establishing a robust tourism infra,” the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) said in a tweet tagging the prime minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Ministry of Tourism and the government of Jammu and Kashmir.

The DIPR had announced on Thursday that over 1.62 crore tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir since January, the highest footfall recorded in the erstwhile state in the last 75 years of India’s Independence.

READ MORE | Tourism Boom in Jammu & Kashmir With 1.62 Crore Footfall So Far, Highest in 75 Years: Govt

“Tourism is the biggest source of employment in Jammu and Kashmir and since the start of this year, 1.62 crore tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir so far and this is the highest in 75 years of independence. Tourism has generated maximum employment in various regions of Jammu and Kashmir including Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu and the Kashmir Valley,” officials in the tourism department said.

Seventy-five offbeat destinations have been identified for tourism across Jammu and Kashmir as part of the Central government’s “Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav” initiative commemorating 75 years of the India’s Independence, the official said.

A record-breaking 20.5 lakh tourists, including 3.65 lakh pilgrims visiting Amarnath Cave, have visited Kashmir in the first eight months of this year. Tourist sites like Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg and hotels and guesthouses in Srinagar experienced 100 per cent occupancy, officials had said.

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