Sir,
Apropos to the editorial,” Tourist Villages” DE, 13th November. It is really a matter of great pleasure and inspiration as such an editorial has been written nicely and probably it is first of its kind relating to tourism. I am much delighted and excited that tourism is surviving very well in Jammu and Kashmir despite lack of political will. The state having a lot of potential of alluring the tourists from the world over with its captivating locales got embroiled in insurgency. However, fortunately the infrastructure of the tourism remained unaffected.
The editorial rightly speaks about the idea of establishing tourist villages which was first mooted in some European countries and its concept was floated by western countries. Necessary steps were also taken up by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir for tourism development based on tourist villages. With the concerted efforts made by the Tourism Department officials, the Special Task Force of the UPA Government recommended a slew of measures for the development of a number of sectors, including Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir on sustainable basis during 2008. Tourist villages were also identified on major routes of the state.Out of these villages only 50 tourist villages were sanctioned. Out of 50 tourist villages sanctioned only 27 have been setup and 23 still remain pending. The PDP-BJP Government of Jammu and Kashmir is requested to take this matter with the concerned authority of the union Government for remaining tourist villages. It is because the tourist villages will not only improve the rural economy but also can generate rural employment scenario. Moreover, tourists visiting the villages bring be about a social-culture change vis- a-vis to ameliorate the environment
Yours etc……
Prof (DR) R.D Gupta,
Ex- Associate Dean cum
Chief Scientist , KVK, SKUAST-Jammu.
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