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Tourism potential
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A Centrally sponsored Rs 3.5-cr project would provide facilities for adventure tourism and trekking in the valley and angling on River Kishenganga
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THE development of
tourism remains the main hope for the overall development of
this landlocked valley. The potential areas are adventure
tourism, trekking and fishing, which can attract a lot of
foreign tourists. "There is lot of tourism potential in
Gurez," said Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Tourism Department
of Jammu and Kashmir Government, which organised an inaugural
two-day tourism festival in Gurez in July this year. The
department plans to organise a mega-event next summer, working
on a Centrally-sponsored Rs 3.50 crore tourism development
project. This would provide facilities for adventure tourism,
trekking and fish angling on River Kishenganga that flows down
to PoK.
The project would
develop infrastructure for tourists from Bandipore to Gurez, a
tourist bungalow at the Razdhan Pass, TRC at Dawar and
construction of hutments. "We want to introduce the system
of paying guests in residential houses." Fifteen houses are
being developed in the first instance, the Director said. These
households would be provided a sum of Rs 2 lakh each for
providing facilities to tourists," Shah adds. The Union
Home Ministry has also been approached for facilitating the
hassle-free movement of foreign tourists to the area, which is
otherwise restricted for the foreigners. Indian national from
outside Gurez, too, are allowed entry into the border area with
permission from the police at Bandipore.
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