By Peerzada Mohsin Shafi

The road into Gulmarg on a winter morning looks like a postcard at first. Pine trees sag under fresh snow, and the air is sharp and clean. Then the cars stop moving.

A family climbs out to take photos by the roadside. Another group parks at an awkward angle, narrowing the lane. Within minutes, the slope grinds to a halt. Engines hum, and children grow restless.

A local driver points uphill. “An ambulance tried to get through an hour ago,” he says. “It had to turn back.”

Scenes like this are becoming familiar across Jammu and Kashmir. They are signs of systems struggling to keep up with the growing number of visitors.

In many busy destinations, places that host large gatherings plan for crowds as carefully as they plan buildings or roads.

Pilgrimage routes in the Middle East, football stadiums in Europe, and crowded public squares in East Asia use real-time cameras, crowd-density sensors, timed entry, wide walkways, and teams trained to watch how people move under pressure.

These measures help reduce fear and confusion. Visitors feel safer because they can move in a way that feels predictable.

Jammu and Kashmir sees crowds of a similar scale.

At Vaishno Devi in Katra, tens of thousands of pilgrims arrive on peak days. The walk........

© Kashmir Observer