Kargil to be developed as adventure tourism destination: Tourism minister
(Sourced from PTI)
The Centre is committed to creating international level infrastructure in the Kargil district of Ladakh to make it an adventure tourism destination, Union Minister for Tourism Prahlad Singh Patel said on Sunday. During his visit to Linkipal Ski Slopes in Kargil, Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has planned to promote adventure tourism in areas that have a lot of potential but remain unexplored.
The Minister said, "Kargil is one among them. The government of India is fully committed to creating international level tourism infrastructure in the district so that a feasible environment is created for tourism and employment opportunities."
The Minister said, "The Ministry of Home Affairs has opened over 100 peaks for mountaineering in the country for tourists to promote adventure tourism, which also includes several peaks of Kargil district." "Facilities will be created to give training and technical support to people here and empower them adequately to create skilled manpower to serve tourists in the most professional manner," he added.
Patel said, "Regular training and refresher courses will be organized to achieve this goal." The Minister added that he along with a high-level team from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture visited Ladakh, after Ladakh became a Union Territory, to hold meetings with the hill councils of Kargil and Leh to discuss and draw up plans for the development of the tourism sector.
Thanking the Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council for his assurance to provide land for developing ski slopes at Kargil, Patel said, "The Tourism Ministry will provide adequate funds for the development of this area." The Minister was briefed by experts on the feasibility of opening a skiing and mountaineering institute and creating facilities like ski-lifts at Linkipal Ski Slopes.
Further, Patel directed officers to submit a detailed project report to the Tourism Ministry so that work for the development of Linkipal Ski Slopes can be started in this summer season once land demarcation and other necessary formalities are fulfilled. Officers were also directed to create the basic infrastructure to ensure the setting up of initial facilities before going into the whole project.
Patel stressed that a detailed project report should be designed in such a way that tourists experience world-class snow skiing facilities and hospitality. Patel visited the Bodhisattva Maitreya statue and the Shargole Cave Monastery and also interacted with the locals and the folk artists.
