The forgotten half

It was only during the decade-long turmoil in the Valley, when tourism in Kashmir had come to almost a complete standstill, that some efforts were initiated by the state government to retain the tourist flow into the state by diverting them to places in the Jammuregion.

However, the efforts did not show the desired results as, barring Patnitop a hill tourist resort covered with tall deodar trees located about 100 km from Jammu no other tourist destination was projected by the state government, though the region has quite a few places of tourist interest.That a concerted effort shows results was clear in the case of Patnitop, which went from being a place that only the locals knew about to one that has started attracting tourists from almost every part of the country. Almost 100 per cent occupancy is now reported in its tourist huts and other kinds of accommodation in the peak season. Though the authorities talked about diverting some of this traffic in the mid-8217;90s to surrounding destinations like Sanasar and Mansar, these proposals failed to take practical shape.

Experts on tourism attribute the failure to the absence of proper planning in offering package tours on the part of both the State Department of Tourism and the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism DevelopmentCorporation. Besides, in the absence of adequate infrastructure, local travel agents and tour operators could do little to attract tourists to these locales.

The Jammu region offers a number of picturesque and captivating tourist destinations the beautiful meadows of Sarthal8217; which remain covered with snow for six months of the year; Bani8217; located at a height of 4,200 ft in the lap of lofty mountains in Kathua district; the saucer-shaped meadows of Sanasar8217;, 20 km from Patnitop, surrounded by hills; Kud8217;, situated at height of 5,500 ft above the sea level; the sacred Mansar8217; lake about 64 km from Jammu; and Mantalai8217; situated on the lofty mountains and lush green meadows of Pancheri8217; in Udhampur district.

Other places with the potential of becoming tourist destinations are Surinsar8217; lake in Jammu district, eight km from the winter capital; Batote8217; in Doda; and places of historic importance on the foothills of Peer Panjal range Dera Ki Gali, Bimbhar Gali, Noori Chumb, Bufliaz, Chingus, and ThanaMandi, all along the Mughal route in Rajouri and Poonch districts. Chingus serai was built by the Mughals as a resting place during their way to or from the Valley. It is also the place where the intestines of Jehangir were buried after he died on way to Delhi from Kashmir. His wife, fearing rebellion, ordered the body to be buried there and the news of the death was not broken till she reached Delhi. Subsequently, the mortal remains of Jehangir were shifted to Delhi for final burial.

Other pilgrimages in the region include Kailash Yatra in Doda and Shahdara Sahrif in Rajouri beside various other places of religious importance. Beside these, the region also offers various trekking routes along the mountainous ranges in Udhampur, Doda and Kathua districts.

Shrugging off their responsibility, a senior officer of the Tourism Department says the task of planning and offering package tours to tourists has been left to the private sector. His logic is that even before the onset of militancy, travel agents ofthe Valley used to send well-planned itineraries of spots in Kashmir to tourists across the country and outside, and would travel to various places to market their package tours. If they did not mention any tourist spot in Jammu except Vaishno Devi, he says, what can the Government do. Tour operators in Jammu also haven8217;t launched such an exercise, he adds.

The travel agents and tour operators of Jammu, in turn, place the blame on the government. 8220;The tourism department only assures us on many fronts but does nothing,8221; says H.K. Gosain, general secretary of the Association of Jammu Travel Agents AJTA. 8220;How can we attract tourists to a place like Sanasar when they have Gulmarg or Pahalgam in their minds,8221; he asks.

8220;Moreover, when nothing is being done to maintain the beauty of lawns in Patnitop, efforts are not on to complete the road from Patnitop to Sanasar and approach roads are not being constructed to other adjoining tourist spots, how can we make tourists visit these places?8221;

The otherreason for tourism in the region not picking up, they say, is the non-availability of an economic means of transport to various resorts in Jammu. 8220;Except for taxi or ordinary route buses, nothing is available to tourists for places like Patnitop, Mansar, Surinsar and other spots. A tourist will not like to travel in overloaded buses and not every one can afford travelling by taxis,8221; Gosain points out.

Though transport and tourism officials say permits were given in the past to ply tourist coaches, travel agents allege these were wrestled by some influential transporters who were misusing them and operating such vehicles as stage carriages.

However, if Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Tourism, Parvez Dewan is to be believed, tourism has picked up in Jammu region. 8220;In pilgrim tourism sector, Shiv Khori shrine in Udhampur has started attracting a large number of visitors from outside the state. Efforts taken by the department to promote and popularise the shrine have yielded results,8221; he says.

Mantalai, headds, is also attracting a large number of tourists, though he admits that steps are yet to be taken to exploit the vast potential of recreational tourism in Doda district of the region. He also informed that efforts were on to promote Shahdara Sharif as a pilgrim tourist destination on the pattern of Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan.

About coach permits being misused by transporters, Dewan says these were issued by the Transport Department on the recommendations of the Tourism Department, and they were now planning to investigate and check such misuse.Expressing hope that the Patnitop-Sanasar road will be completed soon, he added: 8220;A large number of tourists visit Sanasar during good weather and with completion of the road, it will attract tourists round the year like Patnitop.8221;