Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 4: A delegation of Adventure Tour Operators Association of Kashmir (ATOAK) led by its President Rauf Tramboo called on Governor N.N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan here today.
To further the promotion of adventure tourism in Kashmir, the delegation requested Governor to urge the Tourism Department to implement SRO 198 in letter and spirit so that the licence for functioning as Adventure Tour Operator (ATO) is issued only to qualified ATOs; attention should be given to the immediate renovation of the International Youth Hostel in Sonamarg; the amount of subsidy paid to adventure promoters should be enhanced and all major projects should be provided incentives.
The delegation sought enhancement in the Tourism Department’s budget for carrying out adequate publicity of adventure tourism; an adventure expert should be co-opted while planning adventure tourism in a given area; compensation should be granted for the ATOs being able to replace the inflatable rafting boats which were damaged/lost while rescuing flood victims during 2014.
Governor observed that he would take up the raised issues with the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, Governor released “Parwaaz”, a multilingual poetry book written by Gazi Ghulam Nabi Kashmiri at the Raj Bhavan here today.
The poems in Urdu, English and Roman English are centred on varied themes of spirituality, romanticism, culture, festivals, politics, et al. As in his earlier volumes of poetry, the poems in “Parwaaz” seek to stress that war cannot be the solution for resolving the varied issues facing the world. The poet’s refrain is that sustained peace is imperative for the progress of humanity.
Governor complimented Ghulam Nabi for his sustained efforts to focus on the vast benefits accruing from the pursuit of peaceful goals. The Governor complimented the author for bringing out a volume containing verses in several languages and hoped that such motivational books are widely circulated for being read by students in schools and colleges and by the public at large who borrow books from public libraries.
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