DON’T WASTE A JIFFY
The government of Jammu and Kashmir has taken another revolutionary decision in its quest to boost the tourism sector in the UT by outsourcing certain assets belonging to its tourism department for promotion of tourism and side by side generating handsome amount in the shape of revenue. This is something which the successive governments in the region should have accomplished long back but due to vested interests and lack of awareness the invaluable assets of the government were left on the mercy of God and were used mostly by those who were sitting in the higher posts instead for the real stakeholders who used to visit the erstwhile state for tourism purpose. Thus assets which have been handpicked in the first phase include Pahalgam Club, Ashoka Hotel at Jammu and huts of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) at Patnitop. Reportedly, a total of 12 such assets in the Union Territory have been identified for outsourcing and the entire exercise will be completed by middle of next year while as more such properties will be identified in the next phase. The government deserves kudos for this farsighted step as this will help in utilizing the treasure which the tourism department owns but is lying unutilized due to the policy deficit of the previous governments that reined the region in the last nearly 70 years without giving a thought to add colours to the tourism sector as what was available in 1950s and 60s to visitors continued to be offered to tourists visiting J&K till recently. This is a harsh reality and the main reason for the region losing the fight against its competitors that climbed new heights in the tourism sector by including all the modern facilities in the itinerary of the tourists visiting their jurisdictions. It is laudable measure taken by the government to outsource the assets meant for tourism promotion because this can act as game changer for the one and all in the UT especially for the ones who depend on the tourism sector for their livelihood. It is advisable for the people sitting at the helm not to waste even a jiffy in making such steps a reality because this will help in changing the socio-economic condition of the region with prosperity and good fortune entering every household endlessly.