The army has let civilians, including tourists, visit Kaman Post and Bridge, which is the last point on the Line of Control in Baramulla area.
On the LoC, plans are being made to make the Kaman Bridge, also called the Peace Bridge (Aman Setu), which links the Valley to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, a possible tourist spot. Last week, the army general in charge of the 12 Infantry Brigade in Uri, which looks out over the Line of Control, said that the restrictions on travel to Kaman, which is about 130 kilometers from Srinagar and is meant to promote tourism, have been lifted.
Brigadier Kuldeep Dahiya, who is in charge of the Uri Brigade, told reporters at the Uri Mela that Uri should be on the tourist map of the world. “There are no rules about who can visit Kaman Post, as it is now open to both tourists and locals,” he had said.
Locals and tourists can now visit the Kaman after getting simple clearance at Army and Police posts. This has been the case for the past month. Before, the army wouldn’t let tourists or locals go to Kaman unless they had clearance, which was a long and complicated process. “If limits have been loosened, it’s a good thing. This area has a lot of promise as a tourist spot.
Let the Army and Police carry out orders on the ground, said Sajjad Shafi, a top leader of the National Conference from Uri. “Then more tourists will come to our area,” he said. “In the past, there were still restrictions even though people said it would be easy to travel.”
After more than 50 years of fighting, the road to PoK was opened in 2005 when bus service began between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. However, it was closed in 2018 because it was thought that terrorists were using it. After being apart for decades, thousands of family members walked across this bridge to see their loved ones.
Since 2021, there has been no fighting along the Line of Control (LoC). Since then, a lot of tourists and locals have been going to Tanghdar, Gurez, and Machil, which are close to the LoC. A 50-foot-tall national flag, views with binoculars, and a kiosk selling local goods have been added to Kaman Post, along with a new place to rest.
At Kaman Post, signs have been put up with pictures of local heroes and soldiers who died in action during the India-Pakistan wars and cross-LoC shelling. The history of the area since 1947 is also shown. A cafe has also opened near the Kaman Aman Setu (bridge), which was used for trade and movement across the Line of Control (LoC) until 2018.
Kaman post is the first point on national highway 1A on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC) in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir. Before the road from Srinagar to Muzaffarabad was shut down in 2018, it was a trade point. In 1956, the post was named after Lt. Col. Kaman Singh, who won the Mahavir Chakra for his bravery in the “Thikal war” in 1948. Officials said that the post is popular because it has a great view of the Line of Control and has become a popular place for schools and colleges to hold inspiring tours.
The Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road was first opened in 2005. It was seen as one of the most important steps India and Pakistan took to build trust with each other. The route was closed in April 2019 for what was said to be repairs, but it could not be reopened because ties between the two countries had gotten worse after Article 370 was repealed and Jammu and Kashmir was split into two Union Territories in August of that year.
Officials from the Indian Army have said that they want to make Kaman post a big tourist attraction with great views of the Lines of Control and stories of snipers shooting from pigeon hole bunkers at one of the most dangerous borders between India and Pakistan. District government and tourism department officials have also been working to make Kaman a popular tourist spot. “Many visitors go to Uri with the intention of going to the last point, but after the long process of getting clearance, they go back without going to the Kaman Post. Ishtiyaq Ahmad, who lives in Uri, said, “The army should take IDs and let people visit Kaman. Only then will it become a popular tourist spot like other places.”
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