news details |
|
|
| Gulmarg snow safety officer shames tourism department globally | | Launches online petition, says Gulmarg Ski area may close | |  Saahil Suhail
Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Feb 25: Shaming Jammu & Kashmir Tourism department across globe, Snow Safety Officer of Gulmarg Ski resort has launched an online petition after the Gulmarg Development Authority and the Department of Tourism denied him adequate quantity of explosives required for avalanche mitigation.
Brian Newman, Avalanche Forecaster at Gulmarg Avalanche Center and Snow Safety officer has launched the petition titled 'Gulmarg Ski area may close in a matter of days without your support' on www.thepetitionsite.com. So far around 300 skiers' hailing from different parts of world have supported Brian Newman's petition and urged the tourism department to provide him the necessary explosives.
In his petition, Newman says that lack of adequate stock of explosives may result in closure of Gulmarg ski area. "Timely requests for additional stock to responsible officials in Gulmarg Development Authority and J&K Department of Tourism have gone unfulfilled. Military explosives are not suitable for avalanche mitigation and are not an acceptable alternative," reads his petition.
Foreign expert working as 'Snow Safety Officer' on contract basis, is working since two months without salary despite having agreed salary cut by 50% after taking temporary paternity leave, he says in the petition. Newman says that the Gulmarg Ski Patrol responsible for search and rescue services in dangerous mountain terrain is without proper equipment to perform this service. "The rescuers and any backcountry accident victims' are in a high comparable risk of injury or death" he claims.
He has named Commissioner Secretary Tourism Rigzin Samphel and Director Tourism Kashmir, Nissar Ahmad Wani in the petition and even shared their emails and contacts numbers and urged supporters to urge both the officers to provide the explosives on time so that the ski areas remains open and footfall of foreign tourists gets maximized.
A tourism department official told Early Times that Newman, an American skier is working with the tourism department from last eight years on contract basis and he has never faced such a situation.
"On one side the department claims that Gulmarg is being promoted as ski destination and huge amount is being spent on advertisements but on the other hand skiers aren't being provided facilities and even explosives aren't being provided for avalanche mitigation," he added.
The officer said that explosives are being used to trigger avalanches in Green Ski area after every snowfall so that the risk of avalanches remains very low. "We have two ski areas Green and Red. Snow is being stabilized in green area by triggering avalanches with the use of explosives while as Red zone is not being touched as skiers go to Red zone on their own risk," he informed.
"Having been to Gulmarg several times I see it as a beautiful and unique place to go skiing. However if there is no safety management of the ski area and other surrounding bowls then tourists will not come including myself. Bryan Newman and the ski patrol do an amazing job with limited resources. They need full government support to maximize the winter tourism potential in Gulmarg and Kashmir" wrote Adam C, skier while supporting the petition. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
STOCK UPDATE |
|
|
 |
| BSE
Sensex |
 |
| NSE
Nifty |
|
|
| |
CRICKET UPDATE |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
