M A I N   N E W S

100 Ladakh peaks to open for climbers
Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 10
With the dual purpose to attract tourists and give an impetus to the mainstay of state economy, the state government has been eagerly awaiting a notification from the Union Home Ministry to throw open nearly 100 high-altitude Himalayan peaks in cold desert — Ladakh.

“We have already got clearance from the Union Defence Ministry and now we await a notification to be issued by the Union Home Ministry,” Tourism Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora told The Tribune. Once the notification is issued, nearly 100 Himalayan peaks, all in the Ladakh region, bordering China and Pakistan, would be opened to climbers from abroad and within the country, he added.

The minister said there was no need for Jammu to seek permission from the Centre, but since Ladakh was strategically located having borders with China and Pakistan, the approval of the Union Government became mandatory. Furthermore, for allowing climbing and trekking expeditions on peaks situated at an altitude of 6,000 metres and above, permission has to be sought from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, he added. Initially, the Defence Ministry, too, had certain reservations to the state government move, but then gave its consent.

Jora exuded confidence that once the notification was issued, the move would give a big impetus to the tourism in the state. “Last winter, the Tourism Department had organised tourism fairs in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Surat, Bangalore, Delhi, Bhopal and Chandigarh and I visited some of the cities with the sole aim to create awareness among the people about immense tourism potential of Jammu and Kashmir,” said Jora. The year 2009 witnessed a steep decline in Pak-sponsored terrorism and the year by far remained the most peaceful period in the history of two-decade protracted violence.