Russian Ambassador meets J

Srinagar, June 20 (UNI) Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha has told Russian Ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov that the situation in the troubled state was fast improving, which can be gauged from the fact that the tourist arrival in the Valley has increased from 28,000 in 2003 to nearly six lakh last year.

Mr Trubnikov called on Lt Gen Sinha at the Raj Bhavan here last evening along with a three-member team of Russian diplomats.

During the meeting, the Governor and the Russian Ambassador discussed matters of mutual interests.

Lt Gen Sinha gave him an overview of the fast improving security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, which has been grappling with militancy for 18 years now.

The Governor said there has been a considerable fillip in tourist arrivals in the Kashmir valley over a period of time.

Similarly, the pilgrim tourism was also gaining momentum, which has given a boost to the local economy, he added.

He told the visiting dignitary that the people of Jammu and Kashmir were yearning for peace and have always distanced themselves from the cult of violence, which was alien to this land of 'sufis and sants'.

The Governor said the Valley has a distinct position for having great glorious ethos of amity, brotherhood and tolerance that is commonly known as 'Kashmiriyat'.

''Though attempts were made to trample this great etho by elements inimical to peace and tranquility, the people of Kashmir stood like a rock and maintained brotherhood,'' he said.

He said ambitious schemes have been formulated for improving infrastructure to give a boost to the militancy-hit tourism sector, which is the mainstay of the state's economy.

All-out efforts were being made to ensure the development of all the three regions of the state, he added.

The Governor and the Russian Ambassador also discussed Kashmiri handicraft, particularly carpets, which were very popular in Central Asia.

UNI