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| Picturesque Nagin opened to tourists after 22Yrs | | | Early Times Report
NAGIN (KASHMIR), Apr 29 : Jammu and Kashmir government today threw open to tourists the stunning destination of Nagin which was sealed off 22 years ago to civilians due to its proximity to the Line of Control. The picturesque meadow, 10 km from the Gulmarg skiing resort and at an altitude of 9000 ft, is a mesmerising fusion of snow-clad mountain ranges, lush green fields dotted with magenta, yellow and white wild flowers and a calm flowing stream. Nagin was made out of bounds for trekkers, tourists and civilians in 1990 when militancy had erupted in the state. The towering mountain peaks that surround Nagin to its south are the last patches of land before the Line of Control, located merely five km away. Since 1990 and for many years the Pir Panjal mountain range that surrounds Nagin was a key infiltration route for the militants prompting the army to seal off the area to all civilian movement. As militancy began to recede in the recent years, the decision was finally made to throw open the meadow for tourists. "Due to militancy this area was closed to tourists, now that militancy is on decline we have decided to open this place", General Officer Commanding of 19 Infantry Maj Gen Bipin Rawal, who commands the army in this area, told reporters at the opening ceremony here.
The commander, however, warned that the decision may be changed in case the army feels security has been compromised by opening this place to tourists. "We will not wish that security of this place will be compromised. Otherwise, we may rethink about it", he said.
Journey to Nagin, located on the Gulmarg-Botapathri road, is an awesome experience as the mountainous road is completely shrouded in a cloud cover and visibility decreases to a few feet. During the opening ceremony which lasted half an hour, the weather changed so fast that rains began and stopped twice and so did the clouds that enveloped the meadow. State Minister for tourism Nawang Rigzin Jora said the government had been making efforts for several years to open this place for tourism industry. "Since the situation in the state has improved over the years, we made this decision to open the resort," Jora said. The decision to open the Nagin sub-resort was made after civil authorities, including the state ministry of tourism, faced an ever increasing rush of tourists in the main resort of Gulmarg. "The carrying capacity of the Gulmarg bowl has reached its limit, so this attempt (to open Nagin) is very important", Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani said. Director state Tourism department Farooq Shah said the decision to open Nagin was made to "decongest Gulmarg". Kashmir valley has witnessed a booming tourism season last year when more than 15 lakh tourists made their way here to spend vacations.
Gulmarg being the prime location on the valley's tourism map remained flooded with tourists.
This year, the government expects that the magical figure of twenty lakh tourists coming to Kashmir will be touched. |
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