SRINAGAR: Pakistan should be bothered about where it will get food from for its people, rather than where India can host its G20 events, says G20’s chief coordinator Harsh Vardhan Shringla in Srinagar on Tuesday.“India has moved on and moved ahead and we are free to host any event in any part of India.
Srinagar is no different. Pakistan should be concerned about the issues of food in their own country, besides they have no locus standi to comment on what we do in our country. The fact that there were five UN representatives among the delegates shows that Srinagar is considered an integral part of India,’’ Shringla said in response to Pakistan’s foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto’s comments objecting to hosting the G20 event in Kashmir.
The two-day G20 working group on tourism meet, held in Srinagar, went off seamlessly. “This has been the biggest foreign gathering in Srinagar so far. There were 59 delegates from 27 countries who revelled in the beauty of Kashmir. Peace, prosperity has returned to the valley and sponsored terrorism has nearly been wiped out. Schools and colleges are open all year through – these are big achievements for the state,’’ said Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha.
Jammu and Kashmir has identified 300 new places of tourist interest and are working on sprucing up infrastructure in the valley to accommodate more tourists. The projection for this year is 20 million tourists arriving in the Valley. “J&K will soon find its place in the top 50 destinations in the world and it will be on the travel bucket list of global travellers,’’ said LG Sinha.