Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 11: In a meeting of office bearers of All Jammu Hotels and Lodges Association held today, its chairman, Inderjeet Khajuria expressed serious concern over the plight of tourism stakeholders because of almost zero business due to overlooking of tourism sector of Jammu region, particularly since the extension of train service from Jammu to Katra.
Pawan Gupta, President of the Association, said that tourism stakeholders are completely disappointed due to lack of any business support from the Government side despite repeated appeals by the Association.
The meet pointed out that according to Government official data, more than two crores of tourists had visited Jammu and Kashmir but there is no information that how many of them had visited Jammu. A very small number of tourists are coming to Jammu which can be audited at the Government end and this is all due to lack of any attractive tourist spots in and around Jammu, observed the meet.
The Association said that tourism industry was already on the ventilator due to extension of train service from Jammu to Katra and as such no Shri Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrim is coming to Jammu while the same will happen in case of Shri Amarnath Ji yatra devotees in coming years when Kashmir will be connected directly with the rest of India very shortly.
“ The future of tourist dependent dealers in shawls, dry fruits, dhabas, taxis, auto rickshaws, etc is completely bleak , unless the Government sincerely develops Jammu as an independent tourist destination. The work on various mega pipeline projects such as artificial lake, Mubarak Mandi complex, beautification of banks of Surya Putri, Tawi river, etc is going at a snail’s pace,” observed the Association members and demanded declaration of Ranbir canal as a heritage and its boulevard be developed on the pattern of Kashmir.
Pawan Gupta suggested that Government should start a fleet of e-buses for local sightseeing in and around Jammu, besides developing some special type of attractions in Jammu so that devotees of Mata Vaishno Devi must also visit Raghunath Ji and Tirupati Bala Ji Temples in Jammu.
Other office bearers present in the meeting, included M L Sharma, Anil Khajuria, Pritam Sharma, H S Manhas, Baldev Raj, Sunil Suri, Swarn Singh and Varun Gupta.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
