(NewsViews, NewsPremi.com: Thursday, 1 May 2025)
The disgusting image you see here is from the restroom of a four-star hotel. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the hotel’s owner/manager/staff have stored all sorts of food items in this space. Along with packets of bread, there are juice tetra packs, bottles of cold drinks, containers meant for packing lunches/snacks for tourists, jars of pickles, and-even raw dough.
This hotel is located in Pahalgam. Just a couple of days before the terrorist attack, a close friend of mine had stayed at this hotel with his family and relatives. It was then that he noticed this storage arrangement, and that’s when they realised the true state of affairs in the hotel. All the guests staying there at the time were Hindus. It became clear how the hotel treated its Hindu guests. Even though they had already paid in advance for a full package and still had two days left in their stay, not a single member of the group ate even a morsel of the hotel’s food for the next two days.
Had I come across this kind of a picture from any other source, I might have had my doubts. But Nilesh Sangoi is a close friend- trustworthy, sensible, a true citizen of India, a genuine patriot, and someone who holds no prejudice against any religion. He is a Jain.
Let me make it clear: this short piece is not intended to stoke any Hindu-Muslim sentiments. Rather, it is simply an example of how tourists are treated in certain places in Kashmir. Of course, there must be hotels in Kashmir that maintain excellent standards of cleanliness and hygiene. But this hotel was not one of them. The hotel is called Pahalgam Shore. Look at the grandeur of the hotel’s exterior. See the elegant decor of the rooms (all photos are taken from the hotel’s website).
You’d be instantly impressed. Not only that, but customers who have rated this hotel have also sung its praises. One Gujarati lady even gave it a five-star rating and wrote: “The food here is very nice, and especially I loved the ‘khichadi’. The staff is helpful and polite in every way.” When she sees the image from the restroom, she will surely feel nauseated. Another Gujarati lady also gave five stars, writing, “Location is awesome, food is great, staff is very cooperative.” There are many more reviews praising the hotel’s food. You can see for yourself.
The point is, no one noticed the food items stored in that restroom (all these reviews are from around the same dates when Nilesh Sangoi’s family was in Pahalgam). Besides this “special place” for storing food, you are left to wonder what else the hotel might be doing to make this “awesome and tasty” food ‘Halal’. Without evidence, we can’t say more. On the hotel’s website, you’ll also spot the “75 Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” logo and the “G20, India: 2023” logo.
Nilesh Sangoi’s family spent several lakhs touring Kashmir. Every year, Kashmiris earn hundreds of crores from the tourism business. In India, we believe in ‘Atithi devo bhav’- guests are considered akin to gods – so why should Kashmir be any different? Why can’t guests there be treated with the same honor, and served food as pure and hygienic as prasad offered to the divine?
And please, don’t ask what Modi is doing about this. Anyone who asks will get a digital slap from me. In Jammu and Kashmir, the tourism department is under Chief Minister Omar Farooq Abdullah. If you want to ask questions, go ask him.
