Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday dispelled some media reports which said the dairy farmers in the Valley were dumping their milk into drains for want of adequate market.

Navin Choudhary, principal secretary agriculture production and farmers welfare department animal said, “That was just an incident in isolation. This was done to grab attention.

“We have reached every major milk producer in Kashmir and there is no truth in the rumour that dairy farmers are finding it difficult to sell their produce”.

Choudhary said J&K is going to be milk surplus UT by 2023.

“We are ensuring that various purchasers like Amul, etc. continue to impart value addition to our milk production.

“Amul is increasing its take off capacity by one lakh litres. Similarly, other buyers are also increasing their take off capacity.

“Value addition by way of conversion into cheese, butter, milk powder and Ghee is being done regularly so that our produce is adequately marketed,” the principal secretary said.

He also said that the incident of throwing their milk produce into drains was reported from one place in Ganderbal district while the maximum production of milk comes from south Kashmir Pulwama district in the Valley.

“If our dairy farmers are not finding an adequate market in Pulwama, which is the major milk producing district in the Valley, how come we have no complaints from that district?” the top official said.

He assured every major milk producer in not only the Valley, but the entire J&K that the government is doing everything needed to provide technical support, guidance and financial assistance, etc., to the farmers interested in dairy and other allied agricultural activities. (IANS)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir government will transform 75 villages under the Tourist Village Network program Mission Youth to ensure balanced and equitable development of the tourism sector across the Union Territory.

The government under this initiative aims to rejuvenate and transform more than 75 villages in the union territory by promoting tourism and giving sustainable employment for the youth to commemorate 75 years of Independence under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”, an official spokesman said.

In this context, the government started the movement of promoting homestay tourism in the UT by launching Panchari, a village with mesmerizing beauty in district Udhampur as the first tourist village with home stays.

Remarking about this unique initiative, the Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinha said that the administration will recognize the uniqueness of each village and showcase the landscape, foster the indigenous knowledge system and promote cultural diversity and heritage of these villages.

Jammu and Kashmir is known all over the world for the tourism sector is one of the main contributors to the GDP. The Tourism Industry earns huge foreign exchange and provides employment to the thousands of unemployed youth.

The initiative launched under the mission youth will work towards giving a facelift to the 75 villages that are already famous for their historical background, picturesque landscape and cultural importance.

The initiative will strengthen the rural economy in the region, turn youth into entrepreneurs and empower women by offering numerous opportunities of employment.

The initiative is also aimed to promote shooting of films and offering financial aid to the villages for their sustainable development.

All villages which are part of the initiative will also be provided a digital footprint.

It will also provide maximum job opportunities to the youth from different backgrounds and ensure their participation in the policies that have an impact on their lives.

This initiative of Tourist Village Network has the potential and propensity to mobilize the diverse geographical and socio-economic landscape of the union territory.

These are several regions in the union territory which despite having greater tourism potential, have not been able to garner requisite attention due to infrastructural bottlenecks.

Destinations which lag behind in the sphere of tourism infrastructure, can overcome the downsides by introducing homestays as a means of accommodation facilities for the tourists which do not require heavy investment.

This new initiative will surely be the harbinger of change especially for those regions which have remained underdeveloped and neglected. (UNI)