Amarnath attack saviour driver applauds scrapping of 370

SURAT: Salim Shaikh, the bus driver from Valsad who had saved the lives of 50 Amarnath pilgrims in July 2017 terroriost attack, applauded the move to scrap article 370 by the central government.
Shaikh, who did not get bus bookings for Amarnath Yatra since the attack, is hopeful of getting passengers now for the pilgrimage.
The bus returning from Amarnath was attacked on July 10 near Anantnag in Jammu and Kashmir on the first Monday of the holy month of Shravan, which is considered sacred day of the month. A total of seven persons from Valsad and Navsari were killed in the attack in which 18 people were injured. Interestingly, the decision to scrap section 370 was declared by the government on the first Monday of Shravan.
Shaikh told TOI: “Not only me but the entire country and majority of the population in J&K wished a permanent solution to the disturbance in Kashmir. It was a good and timely move by the government. Hopefully, it will make Kashmir safer.”
“Thousands of Kashmiri earn their yearlong livelihood from Amarnath yatra. The pony and palanquin owners along with other labourers used to tell us that they want peace. Entire Kashmir survives on tourism and terrorism destroys their livelihood,” he said.
Since 2017, employer of Shaikh has been organizing Amarnath Yatra but not getting enough pilgrims. Shaikh did four trips to Amarnath as a driver and due to his courage 50 passengers survived the attack. He manoeuvred the 56 seater bus with one flat tyre on mountainous terrain amid bullets zipping by for over two kilometres. Shaikh was awarded Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the President of India in January 2018.
“I earned good money from one trip of Yatra and it helped me throughout the year. But now I manage by going on other short routes for which the payment is not as good as Amarnath yatra. Poor people like me wish for peace so that everyone gets employment and security,” Shaikh added.