EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Jan 29 : Jammu and Kashmir government is not showing interest to develop border tourism on the International Border (IB) in Jammu keeping in view the repeated tension on the border.
Hundreds of tourists visit the outpost every month for sightseeing, but 'uncertain border', had made tourism officials hesitant about plan to organize border trips to prominent sites in villages close to the border.
Before the Partition in 1947, Suchetgarh was an important trading point between Sialkot and Jammu. After the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan, the state government submitted a plan to the Centre in 2005 to develop it on the pattern of Wagah border crossing in Amritsar sector. Rs. 3.5 crore has been spent on upgrading the infrastructure since 2010 at Suchetgarh and surrounding area which was inaugurated by Tourism Minister Ghulam Ahmed Mir few months back, but works on several other schemes, particularly related to roads, accommodation and children Park.
About four years ago, a project namely "Development of Border Area Tourism Circuit Jammu" was sanctioned by the Union Tourism Ministry under the Centre's plan to develop Suchetgarh and the shrine of Baba Chamlayal on Indo-Pak border. Last year, Tourism Department has given figures that about 2000 tourists visit the place every month while thousands of people from both the countries pay their obeisance at the Chamlayal shrine. |
