Ashok Sharma
The state of J&K has been blessed with natural beauty in a bountiful manner. There are beautiful lushgreen meadows, high snowcapped mountains, everbubbling springs, rivers having crystal clear water, wonderful slopes, beautiful lakes,wonderful waterfalls, majestic Mughal gardens etc. Enamoured of the natural beauty of Kashmir, the Mughal emperor remarked ‘if there is a paradise on the earth, it is Kashmir, it is Kashmir,it is Kashmir’.Thousands of tourists visit Kashmir every year to enjoy the natural beauty as also to have a respite from the scorching heat of plains ,especially in summer.No wonder, the economy of Kashmir depends on tourism to a large extent benefitting a large no of people including hoteliers, shikara walla has, shopkeepers and people in general.But alongwith the Kashmir division,there are a no of destinations in Jammu Division which have tourist potential which needs to be tapped. There are Mansar and Saruinsar Lakes, Patnitop, Sanasar,Bhaderwah, Mantalai, Krimachi Temples, AkhnoorFort,Ramnagar Fort,etc.besides religious places such as Raghunath temple, Vaishno Devi shrine, Bawe wali Mata, Sudhmahadev etc.
But there are a number of spots having huge tourist potential,which have not been promoted as tourist spots in the manner they ought to have been. For instance,there are a number of stunning tourist spots such as Sargali, Sunseri, GaganTop, Nandigarh, Hans Raj Peak, Sharvadhar, etc located in the natural environs,free from the pollution and noise of cities, which have the potential of attracting large no. of tourists and changing the destiny of the people living there. ‘Paristan’ itself means’the land of fairies’ and true to its name it has places which take the visitors to dreamland and make them fall in love with them.There is a beautiful and picturesque meadow named Gugli which has been endowed with lush greenery surrounded by tall trees and high mountain peaks.The local people Riaz Ahmed,Ishtiaq, Abdul Rashid fondly recall that DD Thakur,the illustrious father of the present Chief Justice of India, and then Finance Minister in the Sheikh Mohd.Abdullah Cabinet, did make an attempt to develop Pogal Paristan as a tourist resort.It was at his initiatiave that a week long programme including cultural bonanza was organised at Gugli way back in 1979,which was attended by many dignitaries from across the state.Even,the then Chief Minister Sheikh Mohd.Abdullah made an attempt to attend the programme but his plane could not land due to bad weather.The local people resent that no sincere effort has been made to develop this beautiful spot since then even though a good number of officers in the J&K Civil Services belong to this area.Even then,the local people grow nostalgic and recall those happy days of the nineteen eighties and early nineties when they used to visit this spot in large numbers,enjoy the breathtaking beauty and play games and return at night happily sometimes in moonlight but due to eruption of militancy,the situation changed and there was a sharp decline in the no of picnickers as they could not venture out after sunset.But they are now happy that the rush of picnickers is again picking up and there is heavy rush of local people ,especially before the onset of the holy month of Ramadhan.But lack of road connectivity, shelters / trees enroute,view points etc is what is acting as hurdle in the promotion of tourism in this area.
Then, there are other beautiful spots in Pogal Paristan which can boost tourism and improve the economy of the local people.These include Nandigarh,Malinsar lake, Hans Raj Peak,Gagan Maidan etc bordering Kashmir Valley. The great Mughal emperor, Akbar is believed to have stayed at Gagan Maidan for one night while on way to Kashmir.If this region is promoted for rural tourism, it can attract a huge footfall of tourists both native and foreigners and there is vast scope of employment of local people.Promotion of rural tourism by exposing the tourists to local traditions, handicrafts, architecture, folk dance, folk music etc. can attract a large footfall of from outside.The charming beauty of these scenic spots, alongwith simple and healthy lifestyle of local prople living in pure and pollution free environment in the lap of nature can provide a much needed respite to the tourist, especially those who live in overcongested and polluted cities.Moreover the route Gugli-Dudh Pao-Nandigram-Hans Raj Peak-Sargali is trekkers paradise and can serve as an ideal route for undertaking trekking activities.There are rivulets and streams which produce gurgling and musical sound providing solace to the mind.At Sargali,there is a big ground serving as natural stadium for the local youth. Local youth play games of various types on this vast ground from where one can have a panaromic view of Pogal on one side and Banihal and other areas on the other side.Sargali is a place worth seeing. Then there is the beautiful village of Senabati which is the base camp for Yatra to the holy shrine of Chamunda Mata at Sarvadhar.A month long yatra is also organised to this shrine generally in the month of July every year,in which thousands of local people and those from other parts of the state take part.This year the 14th Chharri Mubarak Yatra to this holy shrine at Sarvadhar was flagged off from Rameshwar Mandir, Pacca Talab, Bahu Fort, Jammu on 10th July by MP Rajya Sabha, Shamsher Singh Manhas and the event was exclusively reported in this newspaper.Sarvadhar is a scenic spot which commands a panaromic view of Deesa area of Doda district and the whole of Pogal Paristan. Thus,there a number of pictursque spots in Pogal Paristan region of Ramban district,which, if promoted as tourist villages / spots can attract a large footfall of tourists,especially in the hot summer to provide them an opportunity to escape the sweltering heat of the plains and enjoy the pristine beauty of lushgreen meadows and mountains in the salubrious climate.But there is need to preserve forests and undertake massive plantation programmes to grow thick forest cover to make up the loss caused due to deforestation due to cutting of trees.
There is also need to organise programmes to showcase the local handicrafts, folk songs and folk music, local customs / history and other aspects of the rich culture of the region as also to highlight the scenic beauty of this region.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
