Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 5: Identifying tourism as a major thrust area for her party, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti, today said with proper planning it could be a real engine for economic growth of the State and provide enormous employment opportunities.
Addressing a number of meetings in Bijbehara Assembly segment of South Kashmir Lok Sabha constituency, which she won in last elections, she said optimum and sustainable utilization of our resources alone can offer economic self reliance and prosperity to the State. “Unfortunately implementation of the vision rolled out in 2002 by the PDP on tourism, like many other sectors, was not carried forward leading to swelling of the numbers of unemployed and frustrated youth” Mehbooba added.
Regretting that the present Government had been unable even to put speed in projects launched a decade back, Mehbooba said it was a sad commentary on our being a tourist State that the highway from Srinagar and Jammu remains jammed most of the time. The Srinagar-Qazigund sector that feeds most of the premier tourist destinations remains a challenge for commuters throwing tourists as well as the local population into great discomfort Mehbooba said adding that is no way of promoting tourism.
Mehbooba said new areas identified by the previous Government and brought under Tourism Development Authorities have almost been abandoned with a free for all unregulated construction, turning some of them into virtual urban centres or even worse, slums. She said the concretization of Kashmir needs to be reversed, constructions regulated and green areas saved from urbanization.
She said the PDP has plans to promote eco friendly tourism projects and encourage high end tourism that would bring in much higher returns for same product that at present is virtually sold for peanuts. “Side by side with this human resource development in catering and hospitality sector will be launched in a mission mode so that our youngsters are fully equipped not only to help upgrade the sector within the State but open up opportunities for them outside the State also”, she said.
On the occasion senior party leader, Abdul Rehman Veeri, MLA, was also present.
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