Owing to its mountainous character and topography Chenab Valley has received very little attention of the State Tourist Department. Kashmir valley and its several tourist destinations, essentially discovered and tentatively developed by the last two Dogra rulers, usually remained the focus of attention. The British rulers popularized valley’s nascent tourist destinations of Gulmarg and Pahalgam as cherished destinations for colonial rulers and not for general tourism.
The popular Government that assumed power in the State in 1947 onwards, almost walked on the footprints of the British in respect of tourism in Kashmir. The idea of developing Chenab Valley as possible another tourist destination never gained popularity with any regime in Srinagar. Yes, Bhaderwah was talked about casually and given the sobriquet of Chhota Kashmir or Lesser Kashmir, it was nothing more than lip service. It is only a few years back that Chenab Valley phrase was coined and circulated and gradually has become something that is identifiable with rich nature, scenic beauty and valuable flora and fauna. More importantly, the scope of the waters of mighty Chenab providing electric power to the State became catalyst to the rising importance of the Chenab Valley. Perceptions began to change and the Government also began to have a second look on how best the Chenab Valley could be developed. However, this is only a loud thinking as far as we can guess. What is needed is a broad-based organization, something like Chenab Valley Project that would take all aspects of development of the valley both as a privileged habitat and a charming tourist destination into account. The focal area of development as tourist destination would be the town of Bhaderwah and the peripheral forests with sprawling meadows and dense forests of pine and fir trees giving the town an eerie setting.
This town has great potential to develop into a natural tourist destination wherefrom hikers and mountaineers, lovers of nature and bird watchers can make the best of their choice scaling the heights of Jai and Ashapate. For naturalists, the forests of Bhadarwah are extraordinarily rich in fauna and flora, particularly known for medicinal and curative herbs. A rich and beautiful herbarium can be laid out in the bosom of these mountains with pristine environs and refreshing air. A large sanctuary for wild life can be contemplated in the slopes of lush green forests undisturbed by human intrusion. Birds are increasingly becoming rare in densely populated and urban areas of the State. Extensive deforestation in the State has also deprived the village ecology of the presence of colourful singing brides. But here in Bhadarwah, it should be possible to provide a bird sanctuary. Artificial lakes and ponds, big and small, can also be thought of filled by perennially flowing streams of pure water.
The town is expanding haphazardly since proper town planning system is not at hand. If expansion is allowed to grow in this unplanned manner, Bhaderwah will become an ugly town and will lose much of its pristine beauty. Therefore, it is important that the rural and urban development agencies concentrate on planned development of the town as early as possible. Bhaderwah is also known for its shrines of great antiquity. Vasuki Purana gives us the brilliant mythological saga of the place originally known as Bhadrashrama and then corrupted in Bhaderwah. Local people continue to uphold the ancient traditions of visiting the shrines and taking a dip in the waters to wash off the sins as is mentioned in the Vasuki Purana. In a sense Vasuki Purana is to the people of Bhadarwah what Nilamata Purana is to indigenous Kashmiris. In ancient times, this has been a retreat and an idyllic place for secluded praying and meditation. The town has retained that cultural aspect down to present times.
However, any plan of developing Bhadarwah as a tourist destination and as a model town nestled in the lap of forests before the forests vanish, the essential ;pre-requisite is of having a safe and short road connection between Jammu and Bhaderwah since it falls in Jammu province. At the same time, connectivity with Kashmir is also advised as that will be across one of the most scenic areas of the State and in fact of Northern India. For connectivity, a mega project has to be designed which will have the essential component of tunnels. If the travel time between Jammu and Bhaderwah is reduced to four hours that would be a miracle indeed and would contribute to immense growth o Bhaderwah as a fine tourist destination. It should be possible for the engineers and road builders in our country to demonstrate their unique skill by building a tunneled connection to Bhaderwah. IRCON has already undertaken such projects for railway connectivity to Srinagar and tunneled connectivity to Bhaderwah should not be forbidding. That is why we say that a mega project of development of Chenab Valley has to be envisaged.
A valuable attribute of Bhadarwah and adjoining regions is that owing to their geographical location, we find the town situated on the linguistic crossroads of the State. Here we have a people speaking Dogri, Kashmiri, Chamba Himahali, Punjabi, Gojri and above all Bhaderwahi, which is an admixture of all these dialects. Thus a Bhaderwahi is a Dogra when visiting Jammu, a Kashmiri when visiting Kashmir, a Himachali when visiting Chamba and a Punjabi when visiting Punjab. Of course, he is completely at home in Hindi and Urdu. The Bhaderwahis are intelligent people, deeply interested in education and acquiring of skills and many of them are at key posts in the State administration.
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