Srinagar: Extraordinary arrangements have been made to welcome the delegates of G20 at the Srinagar International Airport on Monday and various amenities have been spruced in this backdrop.
Senior J&K authorities would receive the delegates arriving at the airport in two chartered flights on Monday.
The G20 summit this week will be the first major international event to be held in J&K in over 37 years.
This will also be the first major event in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 and Article 35 (A) in August 2019.
The abrogation has been followed by a steep decline in terrorism in Kashmir.
G20 brings together 19 of the world’ leading economies and the European Union, with its members accounting for more than 80 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the global population.
“All the arrangements have been made here at the airport,” Joint General Manager, Communication, Navigation and Surveillance, Airport, A K Srivastava told Greater Kashmir. “There will be a grand welcome to the delegates.”
Srivastava said that the delegates were landing in two chartered flights.
“There will be a cultural programme and high tea for them,” he said, adding that things were being done in close coordination with the J&K administration.
The airport has been decorated and most parts of the airport have been renovated. Besides G20 hoardings, the airport has been adorned with plants and flowers to make it more attractive.
Even the employees at the air facility have been issued fresh uniforms.
“After the welcome, the delegates will leave for their next destination from the airport,” Srivastava said. “A fresh makeover of the airport will also attract more tourists this fall.”
Officials are hopeful that the meeting would have a positive impact on tourism and trade in the region and send out a strong message to the countries that look at Jammu and Kashmir as a “troubled spot”.
Pertinently, since the abrogation of Article 370 various efforts have been undertaken by the Centre to create a conducive atmosphere for the tourism industry to grow in Kashmir.
In January 2020, the government organised the J&K Global Investors’ Summit, under which MoUs worth Rs 13,732 crore were signed.
Last year, in April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that private investment in J&K, which added up to Rs 17,000 crore in the first seven decades after independence, now stood at Rs 38,000 crore.
This was followed by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informing the Lok Sabha that 53 projects worth Rs 58,477 crore had been started in J&K under the Prime Minister’s Development Package.
These covered roads, power, health, education, tourism, agriculture, and skill development.
Last month, Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said that his ministry had taken up developmental works worth Rs 1.3 lakh crore in J&K and that around 500 km of road network had been completed in the region since 2014.