Tourist Reception Centre at picturesque Pahalgam was gutted in June 2014. Along with that many private houses and structures were also destroyed in the fire. This served a shock to the Tourism Department because Pahalgam is the most cherished tourist destination for the visitors coming to Kashmir. Ever since neither the gutted centre has been reconstructed nor a new site has been identified to recreate the centre. The then Chief Minister had not favoured reconstruction of the gutted structure because in his views it did not command a good view of the scenic beauty of the place. In deference to the wishes of the then CM, the Department of Tourism decided to acquire land at a suitable site for constructing a new centre.
The Tourism Department has approached the Revenue Department with the request to identify for it a suitable site where the new Pahalgam TR Centre could be built along modern lines. However, three years have gone by and the identification of land has not matured. How many more years are needed is for anybody to guess. However, the Centre was opened in a hut little ahead of Pahalgam at a place called Nunwan as a temporary measure. This is not very clear how a small hut can serve the purpose which a comprehensive centre is supposed to serve.
Anyway the point is that Pahalgam is a very important tourist destination. If we are really serious that tourism in the State should receive real boost and become a place of attraction for thousands of Tourists coming to Kashmir during summer then we should have a decent and respectable reception centre which would give a good impression to the tourists. It is important that the Tourism Department impresses upon the Revenue Department to expedite identification of an acceptable site and hand it over to the Tourism Department which will initiate construction of a new centre along modern lines to enhance the beauty of visit to Pahalgam.
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