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| Oops! Busy promoting Kashmir tourism, Govt ‘forgets’ Jammu | | |
Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 5: Busy to promote tourism in restive Kashmir even during harsh winters by wooing Bollywood, the government of Jammu and Kashmir seems to have forgotten to promote Jammu on much-needed similar lines.
Sources said the Tourism Department Kashmir in league with other departments organized special Christmas and New Year functions in militancy infested Kashmir region but no such “hi profile” event was held in Jammu.
It was reliably learnt that the government of Jammu and Kashmir had invited several production houses from the Bollywood to celebrate the New Year at Gulmarg.
Sources said those who were given invites include Yashraj Films, Dharma Productions, Sony Films Productions, Reliance Film Productions and Rohit Shetty Films.
A senior official in the Civil Secretariat told Early Times that no such invite was made to the Bollywood to visit Jammu province which is “equally blessed with natural beauty and cinematic locations.”
Sources said apart from inviting Bollywood to Gulmarg, the Jammu and Kashmir government also spend millions to host a cultural festival in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam in connection with the New Year celebrations.
Observers said the government is trying to promote Pahalgam even during chill when the hill resort has not been favorite with the tourists during the winter months.
“Jammu region on the other hand is all-season tourist destination but one can only wonder what prevents the government from promoting it properly. If Kashmir can be promoted even during winters, why not also the winter capital region?” asked a senior official on the condition of anonymity.
A tourism player said though blessed with several historic and religious places, especially the revered Mata Vaishnu Devi Shrine, which attracts millions of tourists, the government has failed to explore the potential of Jammu in its real form.
“Jammu gets tourism due to the blessings of the Mata Vaishnu Devi shrine as otherwise successive regimes have not taken any special measures to promote Jammu,” said a tourism player in Jammu.
Just recently, the national capital hosted a festival to showcase the crafts, cuisine and culture of the recently created Union Territory. Shockingly it had no mention of Jammu as only Kashmir in the name of festival.
The six day festival, named after Kashmir and the first of its kind since the abrogation of Article 370, was held at the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts in New Delhi.
When contacted the officials in the Tourism Department Kashmir confirmed about the developments to have invited Bollywood celebrities to the valley. They however said it was duty of the Tourism Department Jammu to explore hosting such events in Jammu. |
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