Excelsior Correspondent
BAMYAL, Mar 25: Advisor to Governor Parvez Dewan today conducted a day long tour of Jagti, Bamyal, Deva Mai and other areas adjoining Katra and inspected the old traditional route to Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Shrine.
The Advisor to the Governor was accompanied by the officials, local people and the traders associated with the tourism industry.
He inspected the proposed site for the construction of a bridge at Bamyal, which is the only missing link in the revival of traditional route to the Vaishnodevi Shrine.
Responding to the demands raised by the locals for revival of the old route, which according to them the pilgrims are always desirous to take to reach the shrine, he directed for immediate blacktopping and up gradation of first 5 Kms of this route in first phase. He also directed the concerned department to take up the work of the bridge at Bamyal under CRF .
He was informed that in addition to revival of this heritage route to the Vaishnodevi Shrine and historical places enroute, including Kol Kandoli, Oli Mata Temple, Deva Mai , the proposed bridge will also provide a shortest distance connectivity from Katra to the other areas including Akhnoor, Mathwar, Poonch, Rajouri directly via Bamyal.
Cutting the distance to these areas by more than 40 Kms, the construction of the bridge would felicitate expansion of the pilgrim and other tourism activities to Mathwar, Ambaran at Akhnoor, Showa Mata and other areas in Jammu by creating a new Tourist Circuit for pilgrims of Vaishnodevi thus giving further boast to Tourism activity, he was told .
During his tour, Mr.Dewan also visited Food Crafts Institute at Jagti and issued instructions for its early start so that more skilled manpower is provided to the service sector and hotel industry and creating avenues for the unemployed youth.
It was during the time when Parvez Dewan was Secretary Tourism, Government of India that this Institute was sanctioned and funds allotted on the request of stakeholders in tourism industry.