Indian Army not in favor of allowing tourism in Galwan Valley

New Delhi: Indian Army has expressed reservations to allow tourism in Galwan Valley areas which witnessed clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers in June 2020. A media report has claimed.

The report has claimed that the Army's reservation has come as a setback to the Ladakh administration which has been planning to allow tourists to visit villages close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

The tourism department of the Union Territory has been pushing for allowing tourists in many villages along the LAC and the Line of Control as the tourist season has just begun. The administration has been trying to convince the Army to allow tourists in some areas of Galwan Valley.

In March 2023, local residents had requested Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, to work towards opening the Galwan Valley for domestic tourists, the report published in the Tribune daily said.

As per the report, the department had also urged Ladakh-based 14 Corps to open other places, including Mushkoh Valley, in Drass close to the LoC and Gogra-Hot Springs close to the LAC.

The report has also claimed that Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan, Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Ladakh, visited areas close to the LAC during a four-day tour recently and interacted with officials of the ITBP and the Army. He also visited Nubra Valley.

In Galwan Valley, Khan discussed with the Army, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the ITBP regarding opening of border areas up to Daulat Beg Oldie. The report quoted an official saying, "Khan had a first-hand experience of the challenges expected to surface in case this area is opened for tourism. It is felt that further consultations are required for opening this route."

"Even the department will not do anything in haste that could trouble tourists," the official added.

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