Seven years after the Centre suspended cross-LoC trade through Salamabad in Uri, the Trade Facilitation Centre is set to get a new role, with the Tourism Department planning to utilise the facility for promoting border tourism in North Kashmir.
According to the details available, the department has received the green signal to take over the Trade Facilitation Centre, along with the assets and facilities available there, for tourism-related activities and promotion of border tourism.
Director Tourism Kashmir, Syed Qamar Sajjad said that the proposal has been approved and said the move reflects the government’s focus on reviving tourism in Kashmir, particularly in border areas.
He said the department will focus on developing facilities and amenities for tourists and coordinate with other agencies to ensure hassle-free movement of visitors and facilitate LoC sightseeing.
The department will also assess the existing infrastructure and decide how the asset can be put to optimum use, the director said, adding that the plan is expected to create employment opportunities for local youth and support tourism-related economic activity in the LoC villages.
Meanwhile, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti has urged Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take up with the Government of India the restoration of the original purpose of the Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre, saying it was built to bridge divided families and revive trade, not to be reduced to a mere tourist site.
In a post on X, Mufti recalled that the facility had come at a heavy price, with many PDP workers losing their lives during the Muzaffarabad Chalo rally.
“The Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre was built to bridge divided families, revive trade and heal wounds, not be reduced to a mere tourist site. It came at a heavy price, with many PDP workers losing their lives during the Muzaffarabad Chalo rally. I urge @OmarAbdullah to take this up with the GOI and restore its original purpose. Kashmir needs more bridges to the outside world, not the shutting of those that connect us,” she said.
The Salamabad Trade Facilitation Centre in Uri was a key facility for cross-Line of Control trade along the Uri-Muzaffarabad route. Cross-LoC trade through the route has remained suspended since 2019.
Mufti said Kashmir needed more bridges to the outside world, not the closure of existing connecting links. No immediate reaction was available from Abdullah’s office.
Pertinently, the Salamabad facility was originally established as one of the two Trade Facilitation Centres for cross-LoC trade, the other being at Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch. Cross-LoC trade between the two parts of Jammu and Kashmir began on October 21, 2008, as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan.
The trade operated four days a week on a barter and zero-duty basis. It was intended to facilitate the exchange of goods of common use between people living on both sides of the LoC.
However, it came to an end in April 2019 after the Ministry of Home Affairs suspended cross-LoC trade at Salamabad and Chakan-da-Bagh, citing reports that the routes were being misused for the movement of illegal weapons, narcotics, fake currency and other activities.
Now, the Tourism Department plans to put the government asset to a different use.
The proposed tourism utilisation is expected to focus on visitor amenities, border tourism activities and facilitation for tourists visiting the Uri sector and nearby LoC viewpoints.
Officials said the department will work out the detailed utilisation plan in the coming days, including the available facilities and the scope for creating livelihood opportunities for local residents.
