Srinagar city is spruced up. In bid to improve urban mobility and beautify the summer capital, the administration has upgraded and is upgrading roads, pedestrian walkways and footpaths. Bridges and embankments of water bodies are illuminated. The historic Clock Tower is being re-modelled and new cycle tracks have come up along with new additions of smart poles with WiFi hubs.
From last few months, work, under the Rs 980-crore Smart City project, has been going on a war-footing and most among 130 developmental projects taken up ahead of the G20 tourism delegates’ working group meeting which started from May 22 have been almost completed.
Dal Lake, Kashmir’s flagship to tourism, looks all clean. It is rather a testament to the massive conservation efforts which were undertaken in preparation for the G20 meetings in Kashmir.
As has been put by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, the ongoing working group G20 meeting is the biggest in terms of attendance. Fifty-nine delegates from 27 countries are participating in the working group meeting. Of late the government made concerted efforts to take tourism to greater heights in Jammu and Kashmir while taking care of the environment.
The third tourism working group meeting has been a success and it has demonstrated that Jammu and Kashmir can host international events.
Last year alone, a record of over 18 million tourists visited the J&K. Tourism contributed more than seven per cent to J&K’s GDP last year. Amid this boon in the visit by the sightseers, more than 300 films were shot in J&K last year. J&K is working tirelessly to attract more investment into the film sector and to make Jammu Kashmir the most popular film shooting destination. According to the Lieutenant Governor , the administration aims to make the countryside and popular destinations more sustainable and preserve the beauty of fascinating heritage sites.
While efforts by the government and allied agencies in ensuring successful G20 summit in Srinagar are praiseworthy, it is a matter of great pride for 13 million citizens of the J&K to host the G20 meeting of the tourism working group that focused on global architecture for sustainable tourism.
It now hoped that the meeting would culminate into doubling tourism’s contribution to J&K’s GDP.
It is also hoped that in the times to come, J&K will become the number-one destination for tourists not only from India but from across the world.