There must be innovative and attractive initiatives regularly taken by the Tourism Department in respect of a comparatively neglected Jammu region to add lustre and meaning to tourism related activities. Not big projects, indeed, involving huge investment always matter to attract people but even small initiatives do wonderfully well and in that perspective, a few months back, precisely in early January this year, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor Baseer Ahmed Khan had desired the concerned department for creation of tourist attraction points in the city of temples but so far not to speak of some work having started in that direction but it seems that neither the spirit of creation of such points of attraction has been realised nor the need thereof which speaks of no plans or no proposals even reportedly prepared by the department. Perhaps, no one from the department even reported back to the Advisor who looks after the Tourism Department to acquaint him about the developments in the matter or even difficulties, if any , faced by the department . Perhaps , it needs hardly to be stressed upon that Tourism and related issues are one of the top priorities of the Government as Tourism is the backbone of the economy of UT of Jammu and Kashmir.
We know Bikram Chowk in Jammu city could get into limelight from the tourism point by development of Old Jammu Railway Station which was built in the year 1897 and was a busy railway station in its own way . Trains to and from Sailkot (now in Pakistan ) used to be more frequent but partition of the country not only led to abandonment of this Railway Station but gradually it went off the memory and people’s emotional attachment towards it as the generations passed. Why cannot this heritage point be converted into an attraction point to incite due amusement and zest in the people especially the youth of the UT besides becoming it a tourist point in the heart of the city? There must be old pictures, photos and symbols of the good old days related to this Railway Station which need to be retrieved from wherever they could be, to install the same in the restored heritage site so as to have visitors’ interest and quest evinced therein. Similarly, we used to hear a lot about the proposed joyride from Bikram Chowk to R. S. Pura to boost heritage railway tourism but it appears that mere statements on it have not moved further towards any concrete proposal to have it as early as possible. However, one positive development has been seen in the matter in that on June 8, the Divisional Commissioner while paying a visit to the heritage site has directed for starting at least some preliminary work to materialise the restoration plan of Bikram Chowk. We hope that realising the importance of developing new attractions and upgrading and improving the existing infrastructure must motivate those at the helm in the department concerned to start in the right earnest the requisite initiatives needed to be taken.
We feel delighted hearing many schemes which the UT Government keeps on announcing from time to time but feel concerned that no follow up and monitoring was simultaneously taking place to have such schemes percolated on the ground into becoming realities. Projects like Artificial Lake and building points of tourist attraction on the banks is all undergoing bouts of hiccups not knowing the fate thereof. Therefore, whatever little is possible to create big and lasting benefits must not be allowed to succumb to official apathy and non-seriousness. We hope , necessary steps would be taken like preparation of DPRs and the requisite paper work, making of proposals and other paraphernalia so that the said tourist attraction points get created at an early date.
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