कश्मीर में बॉर्डर टूरिज्म हब केरन से आतंक की एंट्री: सेना की सख्ती से 100 से ज्यादा गेस्ट हाउस-रेस्टोरेंट खाली पड़े, पर्यटन बंद

The area of ​​Keran is in Kupwara district of North Kashmir and the Kishanganga river flowing here is the border line between India and Pakistan.

The border areas of Kashmir which were opened for tourism in 2023 have been closed. Now no one is allowed to go to these areas without police verification. In fact, in July, terrorists tried to infiltrate twice from the Keran sector of the Pak border.

In Keran, a small area situated on the banks of the Kishanganga river, terrorists were trying to take advantage of the tourists and enter the Indian border, but the army either killed them or chased them away. Due to this, border tourism is currently closed in Keran.

People who spent lakhs of rupees on border tourism last year are worried due to this decision of the Jammu and Kashmir government. They see their money going down the drain. People who were earning Rs. 500 to Rs. 5000 per day are left empty handed.

Bhaskar visited Keran village to know the reality. This area is in Kupwara district of North Kashmir and the Kishanganga river flowing here is the border line between India and Pakistan. There are only a few mobile towers here, so the problem of network always persists.

A YouTuber uploaded videos of Karen, since then its beauty came to the fore. After this, the state government opened it for border tourism. The result was that crores of rupees were invested and record number of tourists started arriving.

E-permission will be available, but it will take seven days
On Bhaskar’s question about the closure of tourism in Keran, the Deputy Commissioner’s Office definitely said that tourism has been stopped there after terrorist infiltration. If anyone wants to go, he should apply online after 15 August. He will get e-permission, that too after 7 days.

More than 150 homestays are lying vacant for 15 days
Here local citizen Raja told that last year around 35 thousand tourists had come to Keran. So far more than 43 thousand people have come in 2024. We were hoping that this year would be the best for us, but the hopes were shattered due to incidents of terrorist infiltration.

He said that there are more than 100 restaurants and hotels here. There are more than 150 homestays. All are lying vacant for the last 15 days. The local administration and police have imposed strict restrictions. My brother and I have invested Rs. 15 lakhs together, but now I don’t think we will be able to recover it. We will become bank defaulters.

The tents built for border tourism in Keran, Kashmir now look deserted.

Tents set up along Kishanganga river are empty, people are ready to stay for one night for Rs. 100
Sajid, the owner of a hotel and restaurant built on the banks of Kishanganga river in Keran, said that 100 guest houses, hotels, restaurants were built here in 2023. After this, their number increased rapidly. Till now, the rent for one night to stay in a tent or hotel was 600 to 700 rupees, but now due to compulsion, we are ready to take even 100 rupees as rent, still tourists are not coming. People here have taken loans up to Rs 1 crore for hotels. If the situation does not improve soon, we will become bankrupt.

Was earning up to 60000 rupees every month, now the income is zero
Juhaib, who has set up about 30 tents on the banks of Kishanganga, says that this area became a source of our income due to its beauty. We started earning 50 to 60 thousand rupees every month. But now we are in loss of 20 to 40 lakhs. For the first time in 2023, the government brought a small village like Keran, situated in Neelam Valley, on the tourist map.