67 JKTDC huts located at Cheshmashahi occupied by VIPs

Only one hut kept for tourists' on-line booking

67 JKTDC huts located at Cheshmashahi occupied by VIPs

Even as the Jammu Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation is losing revenue worth crores every year, nearly 67 of its huts located at prime locations of Cheshmashahi and Pari Mahal, near Dal lake in Srinagar (Kashmir) are occupied by VIPs including bureaucrats and a few legislators.

Raising this issue in the Upper House today, PDP members Mohd Ashraf Mir and Murtaza Khan pointed out that JKTDC whose financial condition was already not good has been let to suffer huge loss as its beautiful huts, located at prime locations of Srinagar city have been occupied by bureaucrats. Lakhs of tourists who visit Kashmir every year have been denied this facility despite the fact that these huts were raised for them.

Mr Khan asked if militancy was the reason to accommodate these people in such huts, what steps were taken by the Government in last three years to arrange alternative accommodation for them and before militancy, where were they accommodated. Whether Government intended to get these huts vacated and when, he asked.

Giving reply, Minister in charge Tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora said the JKTDC has 45 huts available at Cheshmashahi and 22 at Pari Mahal in Srinagar. During summer (May-Oct 2011), 46 huts were with Estates, 19 Home Department, one with J&K Bank while only one was kept for the online booking/ reservation of tourists. During winters, out of the total, 40 huts are kept for tourists reservation. In response to a question the Minister said that JKTDC is getting revenue from the concerned departments and it generated revenue of ` 2.95 crore during 2010-11 and till January 2012 this year nearly ` 2.34 crore. He said due to militancy and security threat, these officials were accommodated there and now Government was planning to raise alternative accommodation for them.

Mr Jora provided the list of occupants of huts at Cheshmashahi and Pari-Mahal. They included BJP MLA Ashok Khajuria, MLC BR Kundal, Gopal Reddy ADG Security, Alok Puri DIG Adm (PHQ), Tashi Dorjay Secy ARI/Trg, R Monga Pilot State Civil Aviation, Retd Justice and member SAC M L Koul, G Mamgain Pilot Civil Aviation, Himanshi Pilot Civil Aviation, Deepak Khanna IFS/CCF Eco Tourism, Irshad Ahmed Khan, PCCF, S P Ved ADG, Commissioner/ Secretary Sudhanshu Panday, R L Bhat Member PSC, K B Aggarwal Principal Secretary, Atul Dulloo Commissioner/ Secy, Manoj Kumnar Dwivedi Secretary S&T. Pritam Chand IFS, A K Tiku Chief Warden, J P Singh IPS Director SSG, Ashok Kumar Atri, Suresh Kumar Pr Secy Housing, B B Vyas Pr Secy to CM, B R Sharma Pr Secy Home, Justice Retd G D Sharma/ President CDRC, V S Swalkar Pilot Civil Aviation, R D Tiwari IFS, Umang Narula Commissioner/ Secy, Navin Aggrawal IPS, Vinod Koul/ Relief Commissioner, Ram Lubhaya ADG Home, Parmod Jain, F C Revenue, R K Jerath IAS, Shaleen Kabra MD JKPDC, R K Koul CGM BSNL, H L Goswami Member PSC, Jalil Ahmed Khan Eco Advisor, P L Gupta Commissioner Vigilance, Jeet Lal Gupta Commissioner / Secy, K B Jandial Member PSC and Arvinder Singh Micky. Three huts were reserved for Estates guests, one for Intelligence Bureau, three for High Court Judges one for JK Bank and one for Commissioner Bureau. Five huts were with Raj Bhawan staff, one for Dy Director IB, two for BSF, four for NSG staff and seven others for Governor's staff. Total 19 were under Home Department.

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Bollywood Promoting Kashmir Tourism

It seems Bollywood is on mission Kashmir to help promoting Kashmir tourism and the other dependent sectors which get benefited from the tourism sector.

After Bollywoods superstar, Amir Khan’s visit to famous Dal lake and other parts of the valley, it was international famed director Rahul Dholakia who came directly from Mumbai to New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan today exclusively to JK Pavilion to interact and boost the morale of the Tourism department and other private sector people who are participating in South Asia’s biggest travel mart SATTE in which there are hundreds of participants from all over the globe besides most of the domestic tour and travel players both from the public and private sector.

Rahul Dholkia was received by Director Tourism, Farooq Ahmed Shah and other senior officials of SKICC and JKTDC. The famed director enjoyed interaction with the houseboat people and representatives of the Tourist bodies from the all the three regions of the state.

Rahul Dholakia while recalling his shooting days in Kashmir said that Kashmir should be promoted globally.

“Its locations can be the best shooting frames for Hollywood,” he said.

He was served Kashmiri kehwa and a traditional Kashmiri dance rauf was played for him.Rahul praised the Kashmiri hospitality and said it was unparalleled in the whole world. He said he will come again to shoot a film which will showcase Kashmiris’ friendliness, hospitality and Sufi culture.“These things have to be projected in the global arena so that people would come to know about it,” he added.

Omar underlines preservation of State's unique fauna

Highlighting the State's rich bio-diversity and uniqueness of being land of rich fauna and flora, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Friday emphasized the need for protection and preservation of this individuality of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism.

Chairing the 2nd meeting of State Board for Wildlife (SBW), the Chief Minister, who is also its Chairman, said that measures should be in place to minimize wild animal-human conflict.

"While moving forward on development front the protection of environment, forests, wetlands, water bodies and wildlife should be underlined as compulsory requirement", he added and said that greening policy should be factored in every development project.

"We have to preserve the treasure God has bestowed to us and protect it for future generation", he said calling for coordinated and holistic approach to strike balance between development and protection of environment.

The Chief Minister said that the conditions put by the Forest and Environment Department while granting permissions for some necessary development works should be adhered to in letter and spirit. He said any laxity in this direction is not acceptable.

Omar Abdullah directed for shifting of Sheep Farm from Dachhigam to some suitable area within next three to four months. He said a Committee of the officers of State Sheep and Animal Husbandry Ministry should urgently identify the place for the Sheep Farm and the shifting should take place within the fixed time frame.

This issue was hanging in balance for many years despite the Cabinet decision in this regard. The Chief Minister's direction for its shifting would give boost to the conservation and protection of 'Hangul'.

The Chief Minister said that preservation of the natural wealth of the State should be prime concern to all of us. "In this connection Government agencies and public should be fully aware of their roles. We have to be fully sensitized for its importance", he said, adding that his Government has flagged this aspect as an important concern in its policy planning.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Mian Altaf Ahmad, Legislator, Ravinder Singh, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, B. B. Vyas, Commissioner Secretaries, Shantmanu and Atal Duloo and Shaleen Kabra, Chief Wildlife Warden, A. K. Singh, the presidents and chairpersons of Wildlife Trust of India, Wildlife SoS, Worldwide Fund for Nature India, Wildlife Tours in India representatives from Command, Wildlife Institution of Dehrandun, Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India and public representatives.

The meeting discussed matters relating to the enhancement of ex-gratia compensation for loss of life, livestock and crop in case of wild animal-human conflict, handling and prevention of man-wild animal conflict, constitution of standing committee, setting up of solar telescope, identification and notifying of critical wildlife habitats and strengthening Wildlife Protection Department.

Peace in Kashmir is New Year eve hotspot for tourists

With unrests out of the way at least for the time being, Kashmir seems tourists’ new preferred destination for New Year eve celebrations.With the New Year eve-December 31-just round the corner, the tourists are flying in “exceptional numbers” only to welcome 2012 from the snow clad and chilly highlands and mountains. The occupancy in hotels and guest houses is already on a high, and counting.

“We are having an exceptional rush this winter. All flights arriving here today were fully percent booked with tourists and we have the same for tomorrow and Saturday,” the president tour agents association of Kashmir, Rauf Tramboo, told News Agency.The visitors include the ‘high end’ tourists specially flying in for the weekend.“Since this New Year falls on a weekend, we have high end tourists coming in just to be here on the New Year eve. They may stay for a couple of days,” Tramboo added.As per the estimates the hotels and guest houses are up to 60 percent occupied, but the highest rush is seen at snow clad Gulmarg and Pahalgam. The recent snowfall and cold weather is proving the added attraction.

“The hotels at Gulmarg and Pahalgam are almost full because tourists want to enjoy the snow. We have good rush in Srinagar hotels also,” the president Kashmir Hotel and Restaurant Owners Federation (KHAROF), Faiz Ahmad Bakhshi, said.Kashmir has witnessed a relatively calm year after unrest consumed, almost completely, last three tourism seasons. The 2008, 2009 and 2010 all saw a good beginning to the tourist season, but later it turned ugly with unrest. As against 7.38 lakh tourists who visited Kashmir last year despite the unrest, the number this year has been an unprecedented 11 Lakh.However, it is after 1988 that Kashmir is witnessing rush.

“In comparison to previous years this has been the best in terms of the tourist inflow. It is after start of militancy that we are witnessing such rush,” Faiz said.While the typical New Year parties are avoided, the state tourism department and hoteliers have small time events lined up just to attract the tourists.And, for the winter tourists the tourism department has also has planned various adventurous events to woo both foreign and domestic tourists.“These will include normal skiing, ice skating, heli-skiing and snow carnivals to attract tourists,” a senior officials in the department said.

Migratory Birds Reach Shallabugh Wetland

While the migratory birds have already started to visit the valley’s several wetlands, the Shallabugh Wetland located some 8 kilometers from district Ganderbal has also started receiving the flying visitors.“We have received here over one lakh migratory birds that come from different parts of the globe,” in-charge, Wetland Shallabugh, Abdul Rashid Wani said.

Spread over about 14.6 square kilometres, Shallabugh wetland receives lakhs of flying visitors every year. This year, the number of the flying visitors, as per the officials, is a bit lesser than the previous years. However, the Wani said, “We are quite optimistic about receiving the good number of these migratory birds, like in previous years, in days ahead, provided the water here does not freeze.”

Last year, Shallabugh wetland had received over six lakh flying visitors, which is a record.The migratory birds come to the Valley every year, covering thousands of miles from far off lands.Connected with the famous Aanchar Sar and the Sangam Sar on the South, Shallabugh wetland is the Asia’s biggest wetland reserve.“This season, the 'migratory birds started to throng the wetland since November and the outward migration is expected to start from March and end in mid-April," Wani said.

The migratory birds which visit this wetland mostly come from Siberia, Central Asia, Northern Europe, Ladakh, China and Central Asia.

Some of the popular migratory birds visiting the Shallabugh reserve include goose, bar goose, white heeled duck, shoveller, red-crested Pochard, white-eyed Pochard, common Teal, Pintail, Mallard, Gadwall, Coot, Hoonk and Graylag.Among these, Pintail, Common Teal and Gadwall are the birds visiting this wetland in great number than others.To check the menaces of hunting in the Shallabugh Wetland, wildlife wetland department has increased the vigil here. Besides, being a wetland and the home for the lakhs of flying visitors, Shallabugh in the past used to be an important tourist destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. The pollution in this wetland since decades by the valley's premier health insititue, Sher-i- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura coupled with the inflow of wastes and litter emanating from different hamlets on its peripheries is distracting the tourists.

The officials in wetland had communicated the problem to the SKIMS authorities, who took some measures initially. But the enthusiasm died down later.An environmentalist and a Research Scholar of Dab Mohammad Abbas Bhat said the emanations of bio-medical wastes from SKIMS are the hazardous substances which affect and destroy the flora as well as fauna in this wetland.“Use of pesticides, DDT and insecticides by farmers whose run off reaches ultimately this wetland ultimately causes death to thousands of these species which force them to change the habitat and influence their mating patterns,” he said.

Kashmir Festival in Dehi

To showcase rich art and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir countrywide, a mega festival is being held at New Delhi in 2nd week of December.

The Principal Secretary to Chief Minister B.B. Vyas while chairing a meeting, convened to chalk out the programme for organizing Kashmir Festival at IIC in the Union capital, said that emphasis should be laid on projecting the rare and unique art and heritage in the mega event.

The meeting was attended by Commissioner Secretary, Tourism Atul Duloo, Director, Tourism, Kashmir Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director Information, Khawaja Farooq Renzushah, Special Secretary to Chief Minister Zaffar Ahmad, Special Secretary, Forests, Additional Secretary, Protocol and Cultural Academy and other senior officers of Cultural Academy, Forests and Protocol departments.

The programme will be organized by Department of Tourism and Culture in association with Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Cultural Academy, Forests, Protocol Departments and Resident Commission, New Delhi.

It was decided in the meeting that the masterpieces of art will be exhibited in the Kashmir festival and films on environment of the State will be screened. A seminar will be held in which reputed scholars will deliver lecturers. Besides, INTACH will be organizing a seminar on heritage in which various aspects of State's heritage will be highlighted. The Cultural Academy will present sufi programme and traditional folk dances of the State.

The art lovers and those interested in multifaceted heritage of the State will participate in the gala event. The photo exhibition will be put up by Tourism and Information Departments jointly. A well known drama of Balwant Thakur's Baba Jito will be part of the event, in which different facets of State's culture will be artfully showcased.

Mr Vyas exhorted officers to make this programme a great success as it is an effort to introduce the cultural diversity of the State at a very big forum, which will be attended by a cross section of the Indian society, who are now taking keen interest in understanding the diverse cultural ethos of J&K.

He said that the event throws an opportunity to Tourism Department also to highlight panoramic view of the State to the wide ranging audience expected to participate in the event.

Good days of tourism

Asserting that tourism is an economic activity and should not be equated with the phenomenon of normalcy, Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said that the visit of over 6 lakh visitors to the Valley this summer should serve a loud message for change of travel advisories issued by various countries regarding Jammu and Kashmir.

Expressing satisfaction over the modifications effected by some countries in this regard, he hoped that other countries would also follow the suit. He said that up till now 1.3 million visitors and yatris have visited the Valley indicating return of good days of tourism. "This should be a guiding observation for the countries to remove the travel advisories they have issued to their citizens regarding travelling to the State", he said.

Addressing the 4-day 9th Annual Convention of Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) at SKICC here, the Chief Minister said that the concept of relating tourism activities with the normalcy needed to be changed and tourism regarded as a sheer economic activity.

Omar Abdullah said that Jammu and Kashmir possesses vast potential of adventure tourism which is gaining popularity and momentum globally over the conventional tourism. "Our mountains and rivers are great gifts of God and these offer unique and wide-ranging adventure interests for trekkers, mountaineers, river-rafters, para-gliders, skiers and others", he said, adding that the danger attributed to these activities is simply a misgiving.

"The lovers of adventure sports undertake these activities in a safe mode and the graph of its popularity is steadily on upward trend", he said, adding that the challenge before the State is to showcase this potential of the State in a befitting manner. He said that the concerned department should also produce generation of trained personnel and guides in this field.

The Chief Minister said that ATOAI can help the State to move forward in this direction and train local youth. He said that the State has also to concentrate on improving and upgrading capacities besides raising necessary infrastructure. He said that the local people associated with tourism especially the youth are required to learn from such conferences, understand the requirements and necessities of adventure tourism and also display their views regarding this activity.

Omar Abdullah said that the adventure tourism in the State can be harnessed in a big way to generate jobs and give boost to the economy across the State. He underlined the need for joint efforts by all the stakeholders to nurture this economically viable venture and open vistas for progress and development in the State.

Minister for Tourism, Nawang Rigzin Jora in his speech highlighted the tourist potential of the State, adding that adventure tourism has a great future here. He presented the resume of the measures put in place in the State for the holistic and integrated development of the tourism sector.

Among others the function was attended by Minister of State for Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani, Union Secretary Tourism, Rajen Habib Khawaja, Secretary Tourism Department, Atal Dullo, President ATOAI, Tejbir Singh Anand, Convention chairman and founder president of ATOAI, Capt. Sudesh Kumar and Director Tourism, Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad Shah.

New Tourism destinations

Lolab, Bangus, Drangyari open new vistas of tourism

Bringing of Lolab, Bangus, Drangyari on the tourism map would open new vistas of tourism activities in the State and help to boost the local economy and provide a healthy environment for tourism trade in Kupwara district, which has been conferred a status of Tourism Development Authority.

The views were expressed by the Tourism and Culture Minister, Nawang Rigzin Jora while chairing maiden meeting of the Authority members held here on Thursday.

Minister of State for Tourism and Culture, Nasir Aslam Wani, who was also Vice Chairman of LBDDA was present in the meeting.

Mr Jora said creation of tourism related infrastructure at these destinations would remain priority. He said this fiscal year Rs one crore under State sector is being expended on creation of varied infrastructure in these destinations, adding the Government would soon submit Rs 5 crore project for creation of modern tourist facilities at Lolab and Drangyari spots to the Centre for approval. He directed the concerned authorities to formulate more projects reports for approval of the Centre under central schemes so that holistic tourism infrastructure building would be ensured in the area.

Legislators of Kupwara district, Ch Mohammad Ramzan, Haq Nawaz, Er. Abdul Rashid, Commissioner/Secretary Tourism, Atul Duloo, Director Tourism Kashmir, Farooq Ahmad Shah, Director General Finance, Mangotra, Special Secretary Tourism, Altaf Ahmad, Additional Dostrict Development Commissioner Kupwara, Itrat Hussain, Chief Executive Officer LBDDA, Mr Mohammad Yasin, besides senior officers of Forest, PHE, R&B, PDD were among others attended the meeting.

The meeting deliberated upon the modalities, jurisdiction and infrastructure development under the Authority.

The legislators gave their view points and suggestions for exploring fully the tourism potential of their areas.

Mr Jora assured the legislators that focused attention would be given for promotion of tourism activities in all potential areas of the district in a phased manner, adding the matters like upgradation of road connectivity, electricity and drinking water facilities, besides land acquisition and forest matters would be taken up with concerned Ministries to solve impediments confronting for creation of tourism infrastructure facilities in the area.