Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 6: Expressing his satisfaction over the initiatives of Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister for promoting tourism in J&K , BJP State general secretary and MLA Kathua, Rajiv Jasrotia has said that there is an urgent need to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure and promote new destinations in the picturesque of State. Jasrotia urged the Government to work in “mission mode” to attract tourists this season especially to Jammu region which has potential equivalent to that of Kashmir but has remained untapped.
He said State government should work towards promoting Jammu as an independent tourist destination and plans to bring the region’s Dogra heritage into focus as mentioned in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the PDP-BJP coalition government. Calling for collaborated efforts by stakeholders to showcase various recreational places in Jammu as one Summer package for tourists, Jasrotia said the initiative to sell Jammu as an independent tourist destination will play an important role in reviving economy of State.
Jasrotia drew the attention of Government towards several recreational and historical places in Jammu region which have not been showcased so far including places like Ranjit Sagar Dam in Lakhanpur-Sarthal, Sanasar and Baghliar Dam in Patnitop, Surinsar and Mansar lakes in Udhampur and Samba, Sinthan Top, Warwan in Kishtwar, Shahdara Sharief in Rajouri, Budha Amarnath and the seven lakes in Poonch have to be sold in a big way this season to promote Jammu as a “destination with recreational abundance”.
Maintaining that J&K with its vast potential and growing economy has immense potential for the sustenance of the tourism industry, Jasrotia said that this sector has given jobs to a large number of people and generated economic activities especially in the tertiary sectors. Its impact is visible in service industry sectors of the State such as transport, hospitality, horticulture and small scale industry. Adding further he said that nature has bestowed us lush green forests, sweet springs, perennial rivers, picturesque alpine scenery and pleasant climate of Kashmir Valley, now it is responsibility of government to create facilities to attract large number of tourists to revive economy of State.