Nityanand Rai Talks About Soldier Deaths and Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir
New Delhi [India], July 24: Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, addressed the recent spike in deaths of soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir. He highlighted the significant progress made in counter-terrorism efforts while acknowledging the loss of brave soldiers.
“In the last few days, 28 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir. What’s saddening is that some of our soldiers have also been killed in the firefighting. The soldiers killed are very less than the terrorists neutralized,” he said.
Rai also emphasized the restored peace in the region, which has led to a surge in tourism. “In 2023, 2 crore 11 thousand tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir. Peace has been restored there, which is why tourists are increasing,” he added.
Reiterating the government’s strong stance on terrorism, Rai stated, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has zero tolerance towards terrorism and we will vanish it completely. The total number of people killed from 2004 to 2014 in Jammu and Kashmir was 2819, and in these ten years, 941 deaths have been reported, which has reduced by 66 per cent.”
Minister of State Nityanand Rai’s clarification follows a surge in terror attacks in the Jammu region, including an attack on an army convoy in Kathua and encounters in Doda and Udhampur. He further noted, “80 per cent of deaths of the people have been reduced now as compared to when the Congress was in power. After the abrogation of Article 370, at least 200 terrorists have been killed by the Indian Army.”
Meanwhile, citing a report availed to the MHA by the Jammu and Kashmir government, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said, “The tourism sector has recorded an annual average growth rate of 15.13 per cent during the last three years.”
As per the Minister, a total of 1,08,41,009 tourists visited Jammu and Kashmir between January to June 2024 and 2,11,24,674 in 2023– all-time high so far– followed by the visit of 1,88,64,332 tourists in 2022, 1,13,14,884 in 2021 and 34,70,834 tourists in 2020. He clarified that the footfall in the tourism sector in 2020 was due to the Covid pandemic.
The government of Jammu and Kashmir has reported that several measures have been taken that led to significant improvement in the tourism sector including Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Policy 2020 notified by the government. Other measures comprise availing of incentives under the Jammu and Kashmir Industrial Policy- 2021 considering the status of industry to the tourism sector in the Union Territory.
Doubts Revealed
Nityanand Rai -: Nityanand Rai is a politician in India. He is the Minister of State for Home Affairs, which means he helps take care of the country’s internal security.
Jammu and Kashmir -: Jammu and Kashmir is a region in northern India. It has beautiful mountains and valleys but has also faced problems with terrorism.
soldier deaths -: Soldier deaths refer to soldiers who have died, usually while protecting the country from enemies or terrorists.
counter-terrorism -: Counter-terrorism means actions taken to stop or fight against terrorism, which is when people use violence to create fear for political reasons.
terrorists -: Terrorists are people who use violence and fear to try to achieve their goals, often related to politics or religion.
tourism -: Tourism is when people travel to different places for fun, to see new things, or to relax. In this case, it means people visiting Jammu and Kashmir.
2 crore tourists -: 2 crore tourists means 20 million people visited Jammu and Kashmir. ‘Crore’ is a term used in India to represent ten million.
zero-tolerance policy -: A zero-tolerance policy means the government will not allow any acts of terrorism and will take strict actions against it.
significant reduction in deaths -: Significant reduction in deaths means that fewer people are dying now compared to before, especially since 2014.
