![Representatives of religious shrines posing with former Minister Sham Lal Sharma after a meeting in Jammu. Representatives of religious shrines posing with former Minister Sham Lal Sharma after a meeting in Jammu.](https://cdndailyexcelsior.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/page5-3.jpg)
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 1: Former Minister Sham Lal Sharma today said that in order to help the local businesses flourish and to spread the Dogra culture and heritage among the whole country and the world, we need to promote religious tourism by promoting all the religious places of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said this while chairing a meeting organized by Jammu & Kashmir Religious Tourism Culture & Heritage at Jammu. The meeting was held in order to promote religious tourism in J&K. Mahant Rajesh Bittu also chaired the meet along with former Minister. Representatives of various religious places of Jammu province participated in the meeting.
Sham Lal Sharma, while chairing the meeting, said that the proper way in which the tourism in J&K should have been promoted was not properly executed by the past Kashmir centric Governments. He said, “Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra attracts more than 1 crore tourists every year. Once a tourist enters from Lakhanpur, there are many religious shrines with great historic value on way to Katra but due to no promotion and development of such shrines, there is no tourist and the local businesses of the area are suffering”.
The former Minister said that he will take up the issue with the Government and Members of Parliament from J&K so that the religious tourism can be promoted in J&K and the local business depend on it flourishes.
Harish Sharma, Kapil Verma, Parshottam Singh (Sarpanch), Kuldeep Singh, Devinder Singh Jasrotia, Manohar Lal Shastri, Yougal Kishore (Akhnoor), Vijay (Sukrala), Nittin Choudhary, Anil Andotra, Kusum Indu (Samba) and many others were present in the meeting.