Gunshots That Will Bleed the Valley

THE 22 APRIL TERROR attack at the picturesque tourist resort of Pahalgam in Kashmir, where 26 hapless civilians were massacred, casts a long and dark shadow over the valley's efforts to revert back to normalcy and give its economy a fillip.

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Through the shock waves that run through the nation since, lingers that fear that hopes of a revival for thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs whose livelihood depend on the region's seasonal tourist influx, may now be lost. Tourist cars are leaving the valley by the score and hotel reservations are being cancelled. For a state whose gross domestic product (GSDP) is driven by tourism, such an exodus is not just a setback but a devastating financial blow.