‘Thanks to media campaigns, tourists flowed into Jammu and Kashmir’

October 14th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday warned Pakistan to halt the increase in infiltration across the border, saying not doing so would invite a telling response from Indian security forces. Addressing the All India Editors Conference on Social and Infrastructure here, Chidambaram said: "A spurt in infiltration has been seen after the general elections and the number did rise in the last two to three months from PoK and Pakistan." However, he said, that it is likely to come down during the winter.

July 16th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Tourists and nature lovers have begun to visit Jammu and Kashmir since normalcy has begun to prevail after a spate of recent unrest and violence in some parts of the Kashmir valley. Once a favoured holiday destination, Kashmir tourism suffered a major setback due to re-occurrence of violence in the state.

July 1st, 2009 SRINAGAR - Airfares to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir has increased almost four times the normal cost, as the number of tourists visiting the valley multiplied in the recent weeks. During the month of May, the airfare from national capital to Srinagar was reported to be in the range of rupees 2500 to 3500, which has now touched the mark of rupees 14,000 to 15,000.

June 16th, 2009 SHIMLA - One hill state's loss has been another's gain. With Jammu and Kashmir witnessing unrest over the alleged rape and murder of two women, neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has seen a sudden surge in tourist footfalls.

June 16th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor reviewed the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir Tuesday, a day after the annual Amarnath pilgrimage began despite inclement weather. "Kapoor reviewed the over all security situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the arrangements for smooth conduct of the Amarnath Yatra (pilgrimage)," said a defence ministry official.

June 12th, 2009 JAMMU - Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah Friday said his ministry would draw up a special plan for meeting Jammu and Kashmir's energy needs. "The main focus of this plan would be to electrify the remote and hilly areas, where laying of transmission lines is not possible," Abdullah, who arrived here on his first visit after being inducted into the union cabinet, said.

June 11th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday met Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and discussed the security scenario in the state. During his two-day visit, he is scheduled to meet the Governor and State Ministers.

June 3rd, 2009 SRINAGAR - Around 350 sportspersons representing various states from all over India are participating in the eighth All India Police Water Sports Championship which commenced in Srinagar on Tuesday. The venue of the inaugural ceremony, the Dal Lake, was decorated with balloons and colourful flags of eighteen teams.

May 23rd, 2009 SRINAGAR - Heavy influx of tourists has provided a boost to the nightlife in Kashmir as tourists enjoy boat rides and shopping till late in the evening. For last three weeks the rush of tourists has increased in Kashmir valley and the scenic beauty of the famous Dal Lake is making lot of tourists to spend time outside their hotel rooms.

May 20th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Global recession has failed to affect Kashmir's tourism industry as more and more tourists continue to throng the valley. According to the players in the tourism industry, many domestic tourists have already cancelled their tours to European countries and are coming to Kashmir valley.

May 20th, 2009 JAMMU - India and Pakistan should take steps to augment the cross-border trade between the two countries in Jammu and Kashmir, an industry lobby said Wednesday. Though the trade across the Line of Control (LoC) - the de facto border in the state - is picking up, there was 'an urgent need to redress the long identified problems', Ram Sahai, president of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told the media.

April 6th, 2009 SRINAGAR - Tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir are appealling filmmakers to come back and start shooting films in the state once again. They believe that the situation is normalising and the time is ripe for film shooting to resume in the state, which has been referred to as the "heaven on earth" or the "Switzerland of the east" very often.

April 2nd, 2009 JAMMU - The Jammu and Kashmir government will move April 24 from this winter capital to the state's summer capital Srinagar, where the offices will open May 4. The practice of shifting the Jammu and Kashmir capital, called 'darbar move', continues since the Dogra rule started it some 135 years ago.

February 5th, 2009 JAMMU - Telecom operator Reliance Communications (RCom) Friday launched its GSM services in over 50 towns and more than 5,000 villages in Jammu and Kashmir, and said its nationwide footprint has been completed. 'National and state highways, rail routes, tourist locations and places of worship have been covered,' said Arvind Kumar, RCom's head of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab circle.

December 26th, 2008 SRINAGAR/JAMMU - SMS services on mobile telephones were restored in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday after a five-month ban, according to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officials. The services were suspended Aug 1 when the Amarnath land allotment agitation was at its peak.