Gulmarg’s meadows, Pahalgam’s valleys, the golden calm of Sonamarg and the newer appeal of Doodhpathri draw visitors who come for scenery, and the scenery needs no help from the government. The next hour of the visit does. 

A cup of tea, a plate of food, or a bottle of water comes with a price the visitor learns only when someone says it aloud. Thousands of Kashmiri families live on what happens at that moment. 

Tourism here employs young people, sustains households and feeds the local economy, so the price of a snack is a question of livelihood on both sides of the counter.

Tourists and locals had earlier complained about high food prices in Gulmarg, including shops selling packaged drinking water above its printed MRP. A senior official said action would be taken once a written complaint was received.

That answer places enforcement on a visitor who may be gone within days and has no way of knowing what the next stall charges.

Authority over the problem exists in abundance. 

The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department lists regulation of commerce aimed at tourists, and redressal of their complaints, among its duties. The tourism registration law of the Union Territory contains provisions on malpractice and on........

© Kashmir Observer