Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 12: The Union Government today proposed to develop Himalayan Circuit involving three States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to attract tourists towards `Himalayan Darshan’ with aerial view of the iconic mountain region.
This was announced by Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma at a meeting of the Members of Parliament (MPs) of all three States held in New Delhi.
“The `Himalayan Darshan’ will go long way in attracting not only the national but international tourists. The Ministry of Tourism will generate facilities to attract the tourists after making the Circuit covering three Himalayan States,” official sources said.
At the same time, the Union Tourism Minister said the Government of India is determined to restore the lost glory of Jammu and Kashmir as a prime tourist destination.
“Tourism will be used to fight terrorism,” he said and assured the MPs that there will be no administrative or procedural roadblocks to the development of tourism in the States.
Sources said the ‘Himalayan Darshan’ will be started where the whole mountain region can be connected and an aerial view of the Himalayas planned to attract the tourists to visit these places.
The ‘Himalayan Circuit’ has been identified under the new ‘Swadesh Darshan Scheme’ for promoting tourism by the ministry.
Sources said that the target is to enhance India’s share in global tourism to 1 per cent from the current level of about 0.64 per cent.
Among those who participated in the meeting include Anurag Singh Thakur (MP, Hamirpur), Virender Kashyap (MP, Shimla), Mehbooba Mufti (MP, Anantnag), Thupstan Chhewang (MP, Ladakh), Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (MP, Hardwar), Bhagat Singh Koshyari (MP, Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar) and Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah (MP, Tehri Garhwal) among others.
Sources said that 73 per cent of the Himalayas lie within Indian territory and India can utilise this unique advantage to boost the growth of tourism in this circuit.
In his address, Minister for Tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma said that tourism contributes foreign exchange in a big way to the exchequer of India and it adds 6.8 per cent to the GDP share in India.
He said that Rs 120 crore have been allocated for the development of the ‘Himalayan circuit’ and the amount can be effectively utilised for drawing up a roadmap which will be decided after consultations with the MPs concerned.
The MPs shared their views and identified the areas where the Ministry of Tourism should look into seriously and find ways to improve them in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways.
Mehbooba Mufti said the State of Jammu and Kashmir wants to turn around its economy and tourism appears to be the best way of doing it.
She said growth of tourism will help to generate income and employment for the local people and also help in diversification.
Mufti highlighted the need for starting additional flights from Srinagar Airport to facilitate more inflow of tourists as well as connecting Jammu with more direct trains.
BJP MP from Ladakh Thupstan Chhewang demanded more air connectivity and development of new airports in Ladakh region for promoting tourism.
MPs from Uttarakhand requested for a mono-rail to Haridwar/Rishikesh to meet the growing menace of traffic to these areas. They also asked for developing more airports like Uttarkashi.
Follow our WhatsApp channel