Kupwara, May 3: The Minister of State for Home, Nasir Aslam Wani on Tuesday said that frontier district of Kupwara would be brought on the tourist map soon.       
 “The creation of Lolab-Bangus-Drangyari Development Authority will help us source funds from the Union Ministry of Tourism and very soon a mega tourism project would be conceived and submitted to the Central Government for funding,” Wani said while addressing a gathering here.  
 He said the Lolab Festival, highlighting the cultural and traditional art of the Valley, would be held shortly. “I am in touch with Centre for Excellence in Destinations so that Lolab and Bangus Valleys are promoted as World Tourism sites for which liberal funding will accessed from CED,” he said.
 “Recently, I traveled extensively with DG CED Cesar Castenada to Lolab and Bangus. If all goes well and we are able to project these virgin valleys as world tourist sites, it will give Kupwara district a shot in the arm in the tourism sector.” Wani, who also holds the portfolio of MoS Tourism, said.
 The Minister while referring to the ongoing panchayat elections said, “The panchayat elections will help us transfer power to the grassroots and facilitate monitoring of developmental projects at micro-level.”
 He hailed Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, for his leadership qualities and urged the youth to come forward to strengthen his hands in making JK a model state.
 Later, the Minister took a sectoral review at Kupwara which was attended by the Deputy Commissioner, Muhammad Shafi Rather and all District Officers from R&B, PHE, PDD, School Education, PMGSY, DIC, Tourism, Social Welfare, Rural Development and Municipal Committee.
 During the meeting, the Minister passed immediate instructions to the Deputy Commissioner to make out a proposal to convert Old Girls High School building into a library so that the historic site is promoted as a heritage spot.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 3 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 3 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 4 May 2011 00:00:00 IST