SRINAGAR : As a part of fortnight Kashmir Tourism Festival, Minister for Tourism, Mr. Ghulam Ahmed Mir teed-off Golf Tournament at Golf Club, Kashmir here today. In all 80 Golfers of Rose and Tulip teams participated in the tournament. The tournament was won by Rose team by 20 points. Interacting with Golfers and tourists on the occasion after teeing-off the tournament, the Minister said that Kashmir has a unique opportunity on offer for golfers to play in the refreshing surroundings, where wind whispers through trees of Chinar and Regal Pine. He said J&K has several golf courses in all the regions and added that infrastructural development has been a priority in different parts of the state. “There are numerous golf courses, among which the Royal Springs Golf Course in Srinagar, which was awarded best picturesque Golf Course in Asia. Other courses can be found in Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sidra in Jammu, adding that the highest Golf Course in the world will be completed in Leh soon. Mr. Mir said that lovers of adventure sports such as skiing, heli-skiing, ice skating, ice hockey, polo, archery, angling, paragliding, trekking, mountaineering and rafting will find what they need in Kashmir. He said two popular golf clubs of Kashmir are, Gulmarg Golf Club and Pahalgam Golf Club, where one can register and enjoy a fun game of Golf through hours and hours. The Minister said the J&K government has extensively worked on new facets of tourism products. “These activities include new Skiing techniques and programs, Regular Ice Skating Championships, Snowboarding, Snow Cricket, Snow Rugby, Snow Zorbing, and Heli-skiing”, and added in addition to these activities Government has installed Hot Air Balloon activity in Srinagar and now exploring the same in resorts like Gulmarg and Pahalgam.
Mr. Mir said that in 2013, one of the thrust areas of the Department is high end Golfing and Angling. He said Kashmir has a complete Golf circuit now with a Golf course in Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Srinagar; adding that J&K Tourism Department is also actively reviving ancient sports like Polo and Archery in the state. “White water rafting is another focus area of the Department and under this initiative we had one International rafting event in Bhaderwah in February 2013, where 40 players from different countries participated”, he said and added that Adventure Motor sports has been a great success in J&K state with rallies like Mughal Car Rally, Raid–de–Himalayas and many more. He said that this sport has helped department in exploring, connecting and bringing new destinations on tourist map of the state. The award ceremony function was also held on the occasion in which trophies were given to the winner Rose team and runner-up Tulip team besides individual awards were also handed over to the participant golfers. |
