A three-day winter carnival to showcase the beauty of Kulgam and harness its adventure potential began on Monday at the snow-covered Aharbal in south Kashmir.
The event was organized by the district administration in collaboration with Aharbal Development Authority, Tourism department and Forest Division Kulgam.
In this event, snow games were included like snow rugby, snow volleyball, snow runs for peace, snow skiing, and tug of war. These games were carried out for the first time here at Aharbal.
Speaking toon Monday, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole said that the government intends to develop Aharbal at par with other tourist destinations in Kashmir. He said that the tourism destination in Kulgam has huge potential to attract tourists which needs to be fully exploited. He also added that facilities are being developed at various unexplored tourism destinations to provide much wider choices to the tourists.
Divisional Commissioner also stated that the 21st centuries tourist are looking for experience and Kulgam will be one of those places that will give them the real experience that they are looking for. He further added, "The government has identified 38 destinations where the work for boosting tourism will start and Kulgam is one of them."
K Pole also said, "If 20% of Vaishno Devi tourists come here, then the tourism will increase by 5 fold and with this demand for the cottage, the guest house will also increase. He further stated, "This event is not an isolated event. We will continue to have more and more events where youth will get training so that they will be an expert in winter sports like car racing, snow skiing and many more." Divisional Commissioner also said that they will identify the guest house and will also give training to drivers for the tourist.
The tourists and local residents, including participants, lauded this step taken by the administration as it will boost the tourism at Aharbal tourist spot which is also famous for its waterfall. They all were excited about these snow games.
Sneha, a local of Kulgam, said, " It is very cheering and promising from the government. The tourism sector is an emerging and potential sector. There are many beautiful places other than Gulmarg that are needed to be explored."
Muneeb Zargar, Chairman of Municipal Council Kulgam, said that this initiative will be a great thing for our economy. He also urged the government to pay attention to these places to boost the infrastructural development.
( With inputs from ANI )
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