JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today took a holistic review of the measures being taken in and around Jammu for large-scale development and promotion of tourism and culture here.
The meeting was attended by the Principal Secretary, Culture; Commissioner Secretary, Tourism; PCCF, CAMPA; Secretary, PWD; Ex Dir, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society; DC, Reasi; Director of Tourism, Jammu besides other concerned officers.
While speaking in the meeting the Chief Secretary laid emphasis upon the all-round development of the tourist destinations with provisioning of all the amenities like Roads, power, water and sanitation of all sites.
He called for having a plan for each site after taking into consideration the strengths of each site. He made out that tourism is a leisurely activity so each destination should provide what the visitors expect of it. He asked for roping in different tourism promotion players across the country and taking them on FAM tours here to increase the footfall at each location.
For the Gharana wetland, the Chief Secretary asked to reach out to the bird-watching associations across the country besides taking measures to improve the amenities and facilities there. He also stressed on connecting the nearby famous destination of Suchetgarh by road for creating a tourism circuit there. He asked them to look for the international and national best practices followed in this branch of tourism.
Dulloo also asked to request the BSF to add the frequency of the parade at the Suchetgarh border. He made out that in addition to that the facilities should also be upgraded to cater to the enhanced rush of tourists to this spot.
For Jajjar Kotli near Katra, the Chief Secretary impressed upon the Tourism Department to restore its earlier fame. He called for making the hutments and other infrastructure functional by outsourcing it at the earliest. He told them to add other activities to the list for diverse groups of visitors, especially school children.
Regarding the promotion and publicity of Ranjit Sagar Dam the Chief Secretary asked them to initiate multiple water sports and adventure activities there. He called for full utilisation of its potential besides taking all the precautions for the safety of visitors there.
He also took note of the measures being taken to make Mantalai a spiritual hub of yoga. He stressed on making the facilities and world-class infrastructure raised there available to the potential tourists as its occupancy should get the most priority now.
The Chief Secretary also took note of the current footfall and availability of facilities at Surinsar, Mansar and other locations here. He told them to make micro plans of all these places to make them attractive to the public.
As far as the pilgrim tourism is concerned the Chief Secretary asked them to develop the sites of Ambharan, Kameshwar Temple, Purmandal, Uttar Behni and Shiv Khori religious sites. He asked to take steps to make the visit of pilgrims and tourists comfortable there.
He also took note of the development of the Mubarak Mandi heritage complex and the development of the trail up to Raghunath Bazaar here. He asked them to act swiftly now as everything is on paper and needs implementation on the ground.
The Commissioner Secretary of Tourism, Yasha Mudgal gave inputs about the status of facilities there and the footfall of tourists at each location. She also highlighted the future plans for each location and the timeline by which these plans are going to be implemented here across all these tourist destinations.
