Tourism potential of Pong Dam lake untapped
Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, May 2
The Pong Dam lake, an internationally recognised wetland, receives maximum migratory birds in the entire north India. The wetland last year received 1.44 lakh migratory birds. However, despite such a spectacle of nature, the tourism potential of the lake has not been exploited.
The previous BJP government gave wide publicity to an Asian Development Bank loan for promoting tourism at the Pong Dam lake.
The first phase of the plan was to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure as a tourist destination using funds sourced from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It, however, drew criticism from oustees living in the vicinity of the lake. They were sore at not being taken into confidence while chalking out the plan.
The government had planned to spend Rs 10 crore in the initial phase to develop the area near the Pong Dam structure for attracting tourists.
Sources told The Tribune that as per the plan worked out by the Department of Tourism in Shimla, most of the amount was likely to be spent in the area near the Pong Dam structure.
The department has planned to spend about Rs 2 crore on constructing a parking place near the Pong Dam structure for tourists. The move was termed as wastage of money by the people from the surrounding areas.
Raghav, who lives in the area along the Pong Dam lake, said till date few tourists came to visit the Pong Dam. The government should first create infrastructure around the lake that attracted tourists rather than creating a parking facility. In addition, there was ample open parking place on the banks of the Pong Dam lake and so there was no need to construct a concrete parking.
According to the plan, the Department of Tourism had also planned to bring up a tourist reception centre at a cost of about Rs 1.5 crore near the Pong Dam structure. The people of the area are, however, saying that the tourist reception centre should be created at the Gaggal airport or any other place where tourists land so that they can be guided to visit the Pong Dam lake area.
The stakeholders also lodged their protest against the initial plan chalked out for spending Rs 10 crore for developing tourism in their area, at a meeting held at the district headquarters.
Some participants said developing the entire infrastructure for tourism near the Pong Dam structure would be a waste of funds. Due to security reasons, there are restrictions on tourists visiting the Pong Dam structure. In near future, the security of the Pong Dam is likely to be handed over to the CISF that is going to make things more complex.
The government should, in fact, provide basic infrastructure to private entrepreneurs who want to create places for attracting tourists to the area. The much-celebrated village tourism should be promoted. There are many landmarks as the rock-cut Masroor Temples, the heritage properties of former Guler state and Kangra art centres that can attract tourists to the vicinity of the Pong Dam lake.
If the government involves the locals, it can help generate employment and increase tourism in the Pong Dam area.
Now it remains to be seen if the present Congress government takes the suggestions of the locals living on the banks of the Pong Dam into consideration before spending the amount generated as loan from the ADB for developing tourism around the dam.
