Will Omar take the call keeping areas outside Valley in focus?
DAYA SAGAR
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Indian states to develop at least one global standard tourist destination each to attract international visitors and boost the local economy. Prime Minister opined so on 24th May while chairing the 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog in Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi and opined that the G20 Summit helped India get recognised as a global tourist destination and so in a way suggested that the states should hold the opportunity to develop at least one tourist destination of global expectation in the respective State/ UT. The 10th Governing Council Meeting of NITI Aayog was attended by 24 Chief Ministers and seven Lt. Governors. This year’s theme was Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat@2047 and in reference Prime Minister emphasised that India needs to increase the speed of transformation.
In brief it could be said that what the Prime Minister of India has said becomes very important for the local government of States/ UTs, particularly like UT of J&K since Narendra Modi Chaired the meeting of Niti Ayog as Chairman by virtue of his being Prime Minister of India and he well knew that no state would be take to the burden of the costs of all Inputs for such venture independently & the States / UTs, would also come to centre for assistance. It has to be accepted that the Government of India has always been coming to support any well designed project with financial assistance provided the proposals are well supported with healthy profile and well said projections.
The Government of Jammu & Kashmir has enough scope& also requirement for working in the direction of “one state, one global tourist destination” and that worth showing to the world that once intentions are there unimaginable high potential tourist destinations could be placed on the world map. In J&K there are many areas which have enough scope for development as tourist destinations of world class expectations. J&K’s Kashmir Valley has been attracting the tourist from all over and is observed as the unsurpassable Tourism potential ‘heaven’ but still there is enough scope outside even Kashmir valley to place on the world map a “tourist” heaven extending over the unexplored areas of J&K which have so far remained unattended before 1947 and even after 1947. No doubt all politicians when out of power and the new governments that come have been talking of there being high summer/ winter/ pilgrim/adventure /health resort/ sports tourism potential in the Chenab Valley/Pir Panchal/other sub regions outside Kashmir Valley but have been paid no attention by “past” governments and ‘new’ government will work for that, but the projects have not seen the light.
Recently media has reported that it was on 28th May that while chairing a high-level meeting in Gulmarg to assess the functioning of various departments J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that holding back-to-back meetings at tourist resorts Gulmarg and Pahalgam is an effort to instill public confidence and encourage people to visit Kashmir and it has been at the same reported in media that Gaurav Gupta, Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jammu & Kashmir, has strongly criticized the Omar Abdullah-led government for its selective approach in reviving the Union Territory’s tourism sector following the tragic terror attack in Pahalgam. While the Chief Minister’s decision to convene Special Cabinet meetings in Pahalgam and Gulmarg to restore confidence among tourists is welcome, the complete disregard for the Jammu region-equally impacted in terms of tourism and business-reflects a narrow and one-sided policy adding “Jammu is not merely a transit point; it is a vital pillar of the UT’s cultural and spiritual tourism. From Katra to Patnitop, from historical temples to bustling markets-Jammu offers immense value to the tourism map of the region. The government must recognize this and act”.In another press statement the NC Jammu Provincial President Rattan Lal Gupta has said that the people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially those living in districts Poonch- Rajouri and border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, have borne the brunt of the recent escalation in cross-border firing tragically losing nearly 23 innocent civilian lives and demanding a well-structured comprehensive financial package from the Centre which would not only provide much-needed support to the affected families but also aid in rebuilding livelihoods, strengthening infrastructure, and revitalizing the local economy. Ofcourse there is utmost need for rehabilitation of the people/ areas having suffered from the recent cross border/ LOC firings from Pakistan side but these area have always remained under adverse socio-economic environments thereby lacking in even routine development for which also these sub regions are to be compensated. These areas have lot of tourism potential worth exploitation and making then global standard destinations. The J&K Govt must catch on the call given by Prime Minister Narendar Modi on 24 May 2025 to develop at least one tourist destinationof global expectation….. “one state, one global tourist destination”.
The sub regions lying outside Kashmir Valley have enough area that could be as Unit developed into a Global expectation Tourist Destination which would ofcourse need thousands of crores of INR as input from the government side for which world standard consultants could be retained to draw out the plans & drafts for the areas that have huge fair environment with also some difficult terrain in way likes of much different of which have been turned into super class destinations even by emirates like Dubai. PM Modi has also talked of rise in local economy through such ventures and that is very much relevant in the case of the such areas of Jammu Region, imagine in case one lakh crore INR is invested in the areas that we have how much will go locals for their service / material inputs?…..
Omar Abdullah must take onthe call given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is also chairman of Niti Aayog for “one state, one global tourist destination” and set for drawing out a project profile for approval of assistance from Government of India which will be surely supported by the Prime Minister.
To be continued
(The writer is Senior Journalist and analyst J&K affairs)