DPR sought for development of Purmandal-Utterbehni
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Dec 17: Taking stock of the ongoing projects and activities related to tourism and conservation of cultural heritage in Jammu, Union Minister of State for Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel today called for pristine glory of historic monuments to attract more tourists from all over the world.
“People from other countries visit India to see our rich cultural heritage. More we preserve our heritage and make it magnificent, more and more tourists will come here,” he said while visiting historic Mubarak Mandi Royal Dogra Palaces complex, Purmandal-Utterbehni temples and shrines in Samba district and Jia Pota in Akhnoor, here today.
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The Union Minister also announced restoration of identified 50 Archeological sites in J&K, out of which 15 are located in Jammu. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a clear agenda to protect the cultural heritage, which is our strength and main attraction for the tourists visiting here.
Lamenting that false propaganda with regard to security concerns has affected flow of tourists visiting here, Mr Patel called for collaborative efforts towards promotion of tourism and cultural heritage while allaying apprehensions on security concerns.
The Union Minister, who arrived here today on a two-day visit, also convened a high level meeting of the Tourism and Culture Department in the State and assured full support of the Government of India for conservation and development of the heritage sites in Jammu.
Stressing for holistic development of the Purmandal-Utterbehni as major pilgrimage centres under PRASAD scheme, the Union Minister sought submission of Detailed Project Report on the same to his Ministry within 15 days for further necessary action.
Mr Patel announced that a team of Union Ministry of Tourism would visit Purmandal-Utterbehni within a week since submission of the DPR and he would personally ensure that work on the proposed project is started before end of the current financial year.
Expressing concern over dilapidated condition of the historic temples and monuments at Purmandal-Utterbehni because of no care so far, the Union Minister said that the work on conservation of the same should have started more than 50 years ago.
Pertinent to mention that a project for development of Purmandal-Utterbehni as Pilgrimage Centres was mooted in 2015-16 but the same was never submitted by then PDP-BJP Government to the Centre for no reasons while Rs 2000 crores sanctioned for Tourism development in J&K under Prime Minister Development Project were spent on Kashmir only.
“Let we work sincerely to preserve our heritage, which dates back to Before Christ era and Harrappan period,” said Mr Patel and added that Jammu has rich cultural heritage, which is a big treasure for attracting people from all over the world to visit here.
Soon after arriving at Jammu this morning, the Union Minister straightway visited Mubarak Mandi Palace Complex. He took a round of the Mubarak Mandi complex along with Deepika K Sharma, Executive Director, Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society and Consultant of the Society, who briefed him on the Comprehensive Conservation and Adaptive Re-use Master Plan for Mubarak Mandi Palaces Complex, Jammu.
The Minister took keen interest and visited even the interior sections of the complex. He also visited the Dogra Art Museum where V S Rawat, Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, explained him of the ongoing conservation and preservation works of ASI at the Palaces Complex.
Describing Mubarak Mandi complex as a world class heritage site, the Minister stressed the need for preserving the same. “During my visit to the museum, I have seen 6th to 12th centaury manuscripts on stones and Harrappan era excavations, which are big treasure for us,” he said.
Members of Parliament, Jugal Kishore Sharma and Shamsher Singh Manhas, Deputy Mayor Poornima Sharma, Ex-MLA Rajesh Gupta , former minister Priya Sethi; . Munir-ul-Islam, Director, Archives, Archaeology and Museums; Nissar A Wani, Director Tourism Kashmir; Asgar Hussain, Managing Director, JKTDC; Shamim Wani, Managing Director, Cable Car and Tashi, Deputy Director, Archives, Archaeology and Museums were also present on the occasion.
At Purmandal, the Tourism Minister also paid obeisance at ancient Shiv temple at Purmandal. He took a round of the famous complexes and appreciated the need for developing a Spiritual Circuit for preserving the rich religious and cultural heritage of the region. He called for speedy preparation of DPR for development of Purmandal and Utterbehni under PRASAD Scheme of Government of India.
Rohit Khajuria, Dy Commissioner, Samba; Shakti Pathak, SSP Samba; Nagendra Singh Jamwal, CEO, Surinsar-Mansar Development Authority besides Chander Prakesh Ganga and Dr Devinder Manyal, former Ministers accompanied the Union Minister.
The Union Minister also visited ancient Buddhist site at Ambaran, managed by ASI. He also visited Jio Pota Ghat , Akhnoor Fort and Kameshwer temple and Pandav Gufa. The Minister stressed for accelerating the pace of restoration and conservation works of Akhnoor Fort and advised for further development of the Jio Pota Ghat and its surrounding areas for the facilitation of visiting tourists and its wide publicity.
Later in the evening, the Union Minister convened a meeting which was attended by Advisor K K Sharma; Advisor, Farooq Khan; Navin K Choudhary, Principal Secretary Tourism along with the officers of the Tourism & Culture Department. In the meeting, the Minister was briefed about the ongoing projects and the activities undertaken by the Tourism & Culture Department. The Minister assured full support of Government of India in the ongoing efforts of the Department in development of tourism and culture in the State.
Tomorrow, the Union Minister is scheduled to visit Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, Bhaderwah and other places.
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