SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha held a crucial security review meeting at Raj Bhavan on Friday, following which he announced the reopening of 12 tourist destinations across the UT shut after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.While chairing the Unified Headquarters (UHQ) meeting, however, the LG asserted that the “war against terrorism is not over yet”, and directed forces to remain on high alert to deal with evolving challenges. “Kinetic and non-kinetic operations must continue. We must maintain the momentum and take stringent action against terrorism and its entire ecosystem,” the LG told the officers present.The meeting, held in the wake of the violent protests in the Union Territory of Ladakh, reviewed the current security scenario in J&K. The Army’s Northern Command chief Lt-Gen Pratik Sharma, Air Vice Marshal Vikas Sharma, several corps commanders and other senior military officers, chief secretary Atal Dulloo, DGP Nalin Prabhat and other senior police officers and bureaucrats attended the meeting.Sinha congratulated security forces, J&K Police and intelligence agencies for the “successful anti-terror operations” in the UT, while directing the security apparatus for continuous improvement and to proactively adapt to the evolving threats. He called for what he described as a “whole of government approach” for effectively tackling radicalisation and drug menace.After the security review, Sinha announced the reopening of 12 of the 48 tourist spots and religious places that had been temporarily shut as a precautionary measure after the massacre of 25 tourists and a local.Five destinations in Jammu and seven in Kashmir will be reopened from Monday, Sept 29. These include Aru Valley, Rafting Point Yanner, Akkad Park, Dara Shikoh Garden and Padshahi Park (Bijbehara) in Anantnag district, Kaman Post (Uri) and Eco Park Khadniyar in Baramulla district, Dagan Top in Ramban, Dhaggar in Kathua, Chinkah and Shiv Cave in Reasi, and Padri in Doda district.Both chief minister Omar Abdullah and former CM Mehbooba Mufti have been pushing for opening of tourist destinations.
