Rising tension between India and Pakistan has hit tourism in Punjab’s border district of Amritsar, with the per day pilgrim count at the iconic Golden Temple witnessing a steep fall by up to 25%.
“On an average, anywhere between 80,000 to 90,000 pilgrims including foreigners visit Sri Darbar Sahib daily.
During the past few days, there has been a decline in this figure by almost 25%,” Sri Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar’s manager, Sulakhan Singh said on Thursday.
Asked to specify the reason behind the sudden decline in pilgrims during the past week, he said, “The tension on the border (with Pakistan) appears to be main one.”
He said during festivals like Diwali, birth anniversaries of the Sikh Gurus and other important events and holidays, the daily pilgrim count varies between 3 to 4 lakh.
Singh said though the reason for drop in number of pilgrims was mostly due to escalating tensions between the two nations, some people could have stayed away due to the ongoing harvesting season.
