Kashmir Hindu land protests scare away tourists

Posted 06 28 2008 7:30AM

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Violent clashes between police and protesters in Kashmir over the transfer of forest land to a Hindu shrine have scared away thousands of visitors, hurting the Himalayan region's tourism industry, tour operators say.

Nearly 10,000 Muslims shouting "we want freedom", took to the streets on Friday in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital, while worried tourists peered through hotel windows.

The week-long protests are some of the biggest since a separatist Muslim insurgency broke out in 1989.

Pakistan and India rule different parts of Kashmir but both claim the region in full.

Authorities transferred nearly 100 acres (40 hectares) of forest land in Kashmir to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, a Hindu trust, to erect temporary shelters for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who annually trek to a cave shrine in the mountains.

Three people have been killed in police firing in the strife-torn-region since protests broke out on Monday.

Visitors had started returning to the scenic region in recent years as violence declined after India and Pakistan started a slow-moving peace process in 2004.

"All this has hurt the economy of the Kashmir badly. The number of tourists has decreased in the last two to three days," Inspector-General of Police S.M. Sahai said.

More than 400,000 tourists visited Kashmir during the first five months of this year, according to tour operators.

"Tourists are leaving ... lot of cancellations have already started," Naseer Shah, chairman of the Travel Association of Kashmir, said.

Kashmir was once a top Asian tourism destination, popular among honeymooners, skiers and trekkers. It attracted about a million tourists a year until the separatist revolt broke out in 1989. Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the violence.

Shops, businesses, schools and colleges were closed for a fifth day on Friday in protest at the land deal and soldiers and police patrolled the deserted streets in Srinagar. Government offices and banks were also closed.

"My children and wife are sacred. I am trying to leave as soon as possible," said Tirath Kumar, 35, a visitor from Mumbai.

Protesters say the land transfer to the Hindu trust was aimed at changing the demography of Kashmir, mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority region.

During the two-month-long pilgrimage, thousands of devout Hindus from across India walk and ride ponies to the cave, situated at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,700 feet), to pray by an ice stalagmite they believe to be a symbol of Hindu god Lord Shiva.

(For the latest Reuters news on India see: in.reuters.com, for blogs see blogs.reuters.com/in )