Pahalgam, Aug 16: With thousands descending on this famous tourist resort in the wake of weekend holidays on the eve of I-Day, most of them had to strive hard for food and accommodation as unprecedented rush of people was witnessed here.
 This resort in South Kashmir saw hundreds of private vehicles stranded for hours with those who couldn’t find accommodation preferring to sleep on footpath or in vehicles while others had to buy meal plate at Rs 300.
 They vented their ire at government and blamed the administration for not creating infrastructure to match the rush.
 “If the government can’t provide better infrastructure at the tourist resorts, then what is the fun of creating so much hype about the tourism sector,” said the irate residents, adding that providing maximum accommodation, monitoring the security and transportation was of primary importance at any tourist place.
 They said that such heavy rush was expected on weekends and other major holidays as locals prefer to visit the tourist places.
 Local tourists complained that the administration was not able to maintain check on the prices of food and other eatables available restaurants as well as dhabas and the rent for accommodation in the hotels.
 “The restaurants and dhabas at Pahalgam charge at their own will and most of the time, common people like us are not able to afford it,” said Muzammil Kockhak.
 Kochak said on Saturday a dhaba owner taking advantage of the rush sold a rice plate with Dal for Rs 300.
 “Some youth got agitated and entered into a brawl with the dhaba walla. The police then had to interrupt and bring the things under control,” said Kochak.
 The director tourism, Farooq Ahmad Shah, while denying mis-management on the part of administration, said, “Our priority is to provide better facilities to the tourists as well as local people who visit the tourist spots but when so many people from different places pour in at single tourism spot, the accommodation problem is bound to happen.”
 Managing Director Jammu Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, Rafi Qadri, said the rush was a sporadic one which can happen once in a year.
 “What has happened in Pahalgam can happen anywhere and for that no one is to blamed, but we are expecting that the private sector would come forward too and cater to the needs of the tourists as well as local people,” said Qadri.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 IST