At a cost of over 32 lakh rupees, the Tourism Department purchased sophisticated and expensive machinery meant to give forewarning of avalanches. This was felt necessary for installation at Gulmarg heights because tourists were prone to snow avalanches in the area. This winter another tourist guide a local youth of Kashmir also became a victim of an avalanche though some tourists whom he was conducting were saved miraculously. But neither the tragic death of the foreign tourist nor of the local guide nor the investment of a huge sum in the purchase of snow avalanche warning instrument had any impact on the authorities of the Department of Tourism. The machine got a snag and became dysfunctional. Now it is the third year that it remains out of use and curiously no responsible officer in the department moves his finger to make this crucial machine functional. Maintenance part of any machine meant for public use is a big question in our State. And more often than not many machines are damaged because of mishandling by untrained staff. Taking into account so many shortcomings in the tourism department, one is driven to ask if our tourism industry is viable or not?
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