Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed today tried to dispel the apprehension that Jammu could lose focus after direct rail connectivity to Katra, saying an appropriate strategy had been devised to create attractive assets in and around the winter capital to sustain tourist footfall, which had a direct bearing on trade and business in the city.
He described Jammu as a repository of rich heritage reflected in its historic temples and monuments. “Jammu has its own significance. We will create new areas of attraction to make the stay of visitors in Jammu memorable,” he stated.
The Chief Minister made these remarks immediately after inaugurating River Tawi Front Park here. Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta, Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh and Minister for Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Sukhnandan Kumar were present on the occasion.
Elaborating upon various measures afoot to position Jammu as a heritage destination, the Chief Minister referred to Mubarak Mandi Complex, which previously housed the state legislature, as a heritage treasure that had huge potential to attract art lovers both from within and outside the country.
He said work on execution of the Jammu ropeway would be expedited, which would come as a shot in the arm for Jammu tourism.
He highlighted several other measures taken to diversify tourism-related activities in Jammu region at places such as Ranjit Sagar and Baghliar dams, Sanasar, Marwah, Warwan and Jai Valley in Bhaderwah.
Emphasising upon development of more parks alongside the Tawi front in the city, Mufti said Jammu tourism would receive a fillip once the artificial lake project was completed.
Later, the Chief Minister arrived at the Jammu Tawi golf course at Sidhra and distributed prizes among the winners of the Chief Minister’s Golf Cup. The tourney was teed off by Chief Secretary BR Sharma this morning.
Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the renovated and upgraded Abhinav Theatre here. The refurbished theatre had been commissioned nearly three months after the renovated Tagore Hall was inaugurated by the Chief Minister in Srinagar.
In his address, he asked the youth to take the ownership for preserving the composite cultural legacy. He said theatre was a powerful medium which had to become a nerve centre of cultural revival in the state.
Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, Minister for Finance Haseeb A Drabu and Minister of State for Culture Priya Sethi were present on the occasion. The hall reverberated with several performances depicting the unique Dogra folk culture, which enthralled the audience.
Earlier, Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Aziz Hajini, presented the welcome address, in which he highlighted upcoming events to be organised at Abhinav Theatre.
