Amritsar (Punjab) [India], January 9 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday showed support for the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, stating that the old agreement had been harmful to the interests of Jammu and Kashmir.
During his press conference in Amritsar, he reiterated his long opposition to the treaty and said its suspension would allow the region to utilise its water resources.
"I have been against it from the very first day. The Indus Water Treaty has greatly harmed us. It is good that the treaty has been suspended," the Chief Minister said.
He stressed that the move should now be followed by steps to ensure Jammu and Kashmir can effectively use the region's water resources for its people.
"Now I want measures to be taken so that we are able to use that water for ourselves. We have given two projects to the centre, which we think will benefit us. One is the Jhelum navigation barrage, known as the Tulbul Navigation Barrage," he said.
He highlighted the benefits of this project, saying, "Water level in Wular will increase, and as a result, water in the Jhelum will also increase. Electricity production will increase, and Jhelum will be used for navigation."
He added that they are in continuous communication with the centre about these projects.
The Chief Minister also spoke at length about the challenges faced by the tourism sector in Jammu and Kashmir over the past year.
He described the previous year as particularly difficult, noting that just as tourism was beginning to recover, the Delhi bomb blast created another setback and impacted the tourist visits.
"Last year was difficult for us. When tourism started reviving, the Delhi bomb blast proved to be another setback for us," said the CM.
However, Abdullah said the situation has improved with the onset of snowfall in Kashmir. "Since snowfall has begun, tourism in Kashmir has increased," he said.
He clarified that while the government would continue to promote tourism, it would not release tourism data this time.
"We will continue to promote tourism, but numbers and our success ratio will remain with us," he added.
Highlighting the importance of tourism from other states, Abdullah said Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal remain the main markets for tourists visiting Jammu and Kashmir. He said the administration is working to revive tourism in these states, but has not yet achieved the desired results.
"We are trying our best to revive tourism in these states. I cannot say that we have succeeded, but it feels like tourism has gradually revived since snowfall has started," he said.