Dr Mandeep Azad and Dr Manmeet Motan
Jammu and Kashmir has been voted the best destination-emerging (India) by the prestigious international travel magazine Lonely Planet. When we talk of Jammu we have major tourist attraction as Mata Vaishno Devi located in District Reasi. Every Indian who believes in God will have longing desire to visit the Vaishno Devi Shrine popularly known as “Vaishno Devi Yatra” at least once in his/her lifetime. Katra in Reasi, is the base point to start a 12 km long walk to touch the feet of the Vaishno Devi Mata perched in the snow fed caps of the mighty Shivaliks . People throng the temples in huge numbers to wrad off their sins and purify themselves. Last year more than 1 crore 20 lac devotees visited Vaishno Devi shrine
Reasi is emerging as one of the tourist attractions of Jammu province with tourists coming from all parts of country throughout the year and visiting religious places like Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, Shiv Khori, Dera Baba Banda Bahadur, enjoying adventurous sports like river rafting and hiking, enjoying the lush green hills, watching Salal power project from top of the hill. Reasi has religious and historical importance. Reasi is one of the oldest towns of the J&K. It was the seat of the erstwhile Bhimgarh State said to have been established by Raja Bhim Dev somewhere in the 8th century. It remained independent till 1822 Maharaja Gulab Singh the ruler of J&K consolidated it. In 1948 first administrative reorganisation of the State was undertaken. The major part of Reasi was merged with district Udhampur, while some areas became part of then district Poonch. It was again created as a district after the administrative reorganisation of State in 2006.
The people of this hilly area had been demanding restoration of the District status for Reasi, and even in the Wazir Commission report among other recommendations, it was proposed to upgrade the Sub-Division to District level, but this was not implemented till 2007. People of Reasi agitation to restore the district status in vain in late nineties. Whereas it was upgraded to District level in the year 2007 due to constant efforts made by the people. Now it is on the verge of becoming one of the most happening district in the entire Jammu region. There are many reason behind it. First all the major Hindu places like Vaishno Devi, Shiv Khori, Dharsar Baba, and Baba Siyad are located in this district. Also, there are many enjoyable places which come within Reasi District. Due to this Reasi district sees a great in-rush of people from all over across the country, especially in summer
An historical fort named as Bhimgarh Fort, but generally known as ‘Reasi Fort’ is located in the town of Reasi on a hillock approximately 150 meters high. As per local lore initially the fort was made of clay which later on was reconstructed with stone masonry and was generally used by the royal family for taking shelter during emergencies. Presently, the fort is in the charge of the Department of Archaeology, J&K Government. Today the fort stands out as one of the important landmarks in the town. During the time this was damaged several times due to its age and natural violence. From time to time the Government understanding the importance of this fort has tried its best to reconstruct it. It’s due to this fact that this fort is still standing in Reasi and it adds shine to the Reasi city.
Shiv Khori means cave (Guffa) and Shiv Khori thus denotes Shiva’s cave. This natural cave is about 100 metres long, one metre wide and two to three metres high and contains a self made Lingam, which according to the people is unending. The first entrance of the cave is so wide that 300 devotees can be accommodated at a time. Its cavern is spacious to accommodate large number of people. The inner chamber of the cave is smaller. A number of legends are associated with the discovery of this holy cave. One of the most important legends among them is that a demon named Bhasmasura after a long meditation of Lord Shiva obtained blessing to end the life of any one with that blessing and then tried to kill Lord Shiva but in turn killed himself. As per the legend, 33 crore deities exist in this cave in shape of Pindis. Natural milky water is falling on them from the top of the cave. In this cave there is also a cave which directly goes to Amaranth according to a saint who lived there named as Baba Rameshgiri.
Dera Baba Banda is a shrine which is held in reverence by the Sikhs. Dera Baba Banda is another place of the tourist attraction. Baba Banda Singh was a famous saint soldier of Guru Gobind Singh. A Gurdwara on the bank of Chenab is reminding memories of his time. He spent his last days here. Here a Beri sahib tree and 48ft long Nishaan Sahib can be seen made of deodar and erected by great Baba Banda Bahadur himself. This place is considered as a major pilgrimage centre for Hindus and Sikhs situated in Reasi district. People from outside state also come to this place for pilgrimage particularly on the festival of Baisakhi in the month of April every year.
Salal Power Project is also a source of attraction for visitors situated 23 Km away from Distt. H.Q. Reasi is surrounded by mountains. Salal Hydroelectric Project constructed on river Chenab in the district Reasi. The project has capacity of 690 MW. The beneficiary states are U.P, J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, H.P. Chandigarh & Rajasthan. The visitors show enthusiasm to have a sight of the Project.
Baba Aghar Jitto was a spiritual devotee of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The farmer scarified his life for getting due right share of agriculture crop from Jagirdar Bir Singh who denied to give the committed share. This is why he scarified his life for getting his right and became famous among the farmers. The statue of Baba Jitto is situated near road side in the lap of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi.
River rafting is another tourist attraction in Reasi district. River rafting in Chenab river is a life time experience and tourist love to spend some thrilling time in water after long hours of travel and yatra The rivers run trough some mesmerizing landscapes, giving you the opportunity to explore those wonders of nature, which are otherwise unreachable through land routes.
Beautiful scenic places like Thanpal, Sihar Baba, Sulla park add to the tourist feast. Every year an more than 1 crore devotees visit Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and about 20 lac people visit Shiv Khori shrine. With such big influx of people coming from all parts of India. Reasi is becoming an important tourist place. District Administration has taken important steps for this by providing good boarding lodging facilities and organizing regular employment fairs, melas, wrestling and river rafting competition to keep tourist interest on. Helicopter service to Shiv Khori, Gandola service etc are some of the future projects of the District Administration to attract tourists. Tourism in Reasi is also helping in employment generation with large number people employed in hotels and food courts. Also a number of women self help groups are running who are preparing various items for pilgrims from parsad to chunnis from sweets to pickles and many more things of tourist attraction. Cooperatives and industries are being regularly invited by local administration to keep up with tourist demands and also provide an interacting platform for rural youth. These things are making Reasi a tourist feast with tourists enjoying lush green fields and mesmerizing landscapes.
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