Guns gone, Tosa Maidan woos tourists, officially

Tribune News Service

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Srinagar, May 29

The picturesque Tosa Maidan meadow in central Kashmir’s Budgam district was officially thrown open as a new tourism destination by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today.

The Chief Minister inaugurated the three-day Tosa Maidan Festival, that would include events like horse riding, trekking and mountaineering to promote adventure tourism activities in the area.

Tosa Maidan, which had been used by the Army as an artillery firing range for several decades, was handed back to the state government in 2014. It is the largest pasture — 3 miles long and a mile and a half in width — in the area.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said Tosa Maidan would be brought on the tourism map of the state as an independent and distinct resort without disturbing its fragile environment.

She announced the setting up of a new tourism development authority for Tosa Maidan to ensure focused and distinctive development of the area.

“The government will constitute a new tourism development authority for Tosa Maidan, which will be integrated with Gulmarg, Yusmarg and Dodhpathri tourism development authorities to promote it as an adventure tourism circuit,” the Chief Minister said.

She added that the circuit would be promoted for niche tourism activities like paragliding, trekking, skiing, boating and mountaineering.

She said Tosa Maidan had huge potential for adventure tourism, apart from various routine tour and picnic activities. The Chief Minister called for greater public-private interface to create a sustainable revenue model by optimally utilising the infrastructure available locally to the economic advantage of local residents.

For developing infrastructure at Tosa Maidan, 50 local ‘kothawalas’ would initially be assisted to create the requisite facilities for providing adequate board and lodging facilities to tourists, she added.

The Chief Minister made it clear that she would never allow the picturesque meadow to be turned into a concrete jungle, that had unfortunately happened to other tourist resorts in the state.

She further said the proposed road would not be taken inside the bowl as had happened to the ski resort of Gulmarg.

Later, the Chief Minister visited the tourist destinations of Yusmarg and Gulmarg to take stock of infrastructure and other facilities available for tourists. In Gulmarg, Mehbooba called for identifying a dedicated garbage dumping site in the area for regular disposal of garbage.

For scientific disposal of garbage, a sewage treatment plant would be installed in Gulmarg and other tourist resorts to ensure proper cleanliness of the famous tourist resort, she added.

She interacted with tourists and asked them to become J&K’s goodwill ambassadors.