A record number of 1.62 crore tourists have visited Jammu and Kashmir this year since January 2022 reflecting the declining fear of terror, official figures released by the J& K government show.

The directorate of information & public relations of the J&K government said the tourist footfall in the Union territory this year is the highest since India’s independence, reported news agency ANI.

The figures were released a day after Union home minister Amit Shah said the region has now become a tourist hotspot due to the policies of the Narendra Modi government.

Shah had in his address at a public rally in Baramulla said J&K was once a hot bed of militancy and terrorism but “today this place is the hot spot of tourists. The skiers’ paradise of Gulmarg, the shrines and the breathtaking snow-clad mountains of this place are attracting tourists in large numbers,” he pointed out.

This is giving employment to thousands of youths, and this process will be further strengthened,” the Home Minister added.

Shah was on a three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir which concluded on Wednesday.

Referring to the Abdullahs and the Muftis, Shah said, “These families looted J&K resources for their personal benefit and did nothing for the common man.”

He said that the process of updating the electoral rolls was currently underway. As and when it would be completed, Assembly elections would be announced in Jammu and Kashmir.