Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Kashmir Sep 22: After remaining shut for almost two years following abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 then Covid, there is a buzz of entertainment, political, and tourism activities in Kashmir.
These days’ scores of film crews are shooting in Kashmir for various movies including Bollywood.
Similarly, after over three decades, a cinema hall in Kashmir will allow locals to see movies on a large screen for the first time in Srinagar’s Shivpora area.
Kashmiri businessman Vijay Dhar, and film distributors and theatre chain INOX, have collaborated to open the Valley’s first multiplex in September. This multiplex has three movie theatres with a total seating capacity of 520 people.
“There was a need for cinemas in Kashmir. When we have theatres in Jammu why can’t they have them in Kashmir? Why can’t Kashmiri youth have this entertainment facility? I hope people will support me in this endeavor,” Dhar said, who also owned one of the prominent schools in Kashmir.
The family of Vijay Dhar, a resident of Srinagar, who currently runs the city’s Delhi Public School earlier, owned the Broadway Cinema in Srinagar. Like with other movie theatres in the city, the family had to close.
“I still remember how Kashmiris would line up in large queues to get tickets to watch the movies. I hope Kashmiris will come in large numbers to watch the movies,” Dhar said.
Similarly over 20 lakh tourists, including 3.65 lakh Amarnath yatris, visited Kashmir in the first eight months of this year.
The high influx of tourists has brought smiles back to the faces of tourism stakeholders who are hopeful that the number of tourists will further increase in the coming months. “It has been a great season for us. Kashmir is buzz with tourism activities and we are hopeful more and more tourists will come here,” said Bashir Ahmad, a travel agent.
Political parties have also geared up for assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission has intensified preparations by starting revision of voter lists after the Delimitation Commission completed its exercise. Political parties are holding rallies across Kashmir and asking people to strengthen their parties.
The politics in Jammu and Kashmir is also reinvigorated with Ghulam Nabi Azad’s new innings after his resignation from the Congress.
Azad’s decision to launch a party in J&K has created a buzz in political circles as he has been holding rallies across Union Territory these days.
