Secretary Tourism and Culture, Sarmad Hafeez today said that infrastructure is quintessential for advancing tourism of any area. He maintained that every tourist asset should be an insignia of local culture and heritage.
He made these remarks while reviewing the multi-crore tourism infrastructure projects taken up under the Prime Minister’s Development Plan (PMDP). The tourist circuits under execution through different executing agencies include Jammu- Rajouri- Shopian- Pulwama Circuit, Anantnag- Kishtwar- Pahalgam – Daksum – Ranjit Sagar, Jammu- Srinagar- Pahalgam- Anantnag- Salamabad Uri. The activities include development of tourist facilities like construction of tourist facilitation centres, gender based toilets, Solid waste management plants, improvement of pathways, fencing, beautification of surroundings, lighting, cafeterias and many other allied works.
The development of Dal Lake and Babademb lagoon is also part of this plan. These include improvement of pathways, illumination, development of Shikara Ghats, landscaping and site development, construction of kiosks and flea market are worth mentioning. Majority of the projects are scheduled to get completed till December, 2020, the meeting was informed.