Tourism industry of Kangra dist demands steps to improve connectivity

With union budget on anvil, the tourism industry of Kangra district has demanded better connectivity for the region.

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Kangra tourism industry has been suffering after the opening of Jammu and Kashmir as domestic tourist circuit. Tourism industry stakeholders have submitted a demand charter to BJP MP Kangra Rajiv Bharadwaj elaborating their ideas to revive the tourism sector. The tourism sector is linked with livelihood and the sector is employing directly and indirectly about 1 lakh people in Kangra region.

Ashwani Bamba, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Kangra, said that the tourism in the region has been hit hard after the opening up of Jammu and Kashmir. Connectivity was a major challenge for promotion of tourism in the region.

“We have requested the BJP MP from Kangra to get Vande Bharat train extended from Una to Kangra district. The Union government has extended Vande Bharat train to Srinagar which is going to boost tourism there. Himachal should also get its due share in extension of railway network and Vande Bharat services should be extended to Kangra district. There hardly has been any extension of railway services in Himachal,” he said.

He said the state government has started expansion of Gaggal airport in Kangra district. The union government should also provide financial grant for expansion of the airport. The work on four lane road projects like the Pathankot-Mandi road and Matour-Shimla road should be expedited.

Sanjeev Sharma, a hotelier, said the Union government was promoting ropeways in the country to improve connectivity. In Kangra region the snowline areas in Dhauladhar mountain ranges should be connected with ropeways. Triund trekking summit should be connected with ropeway so that the tourists coming to the region can benefit. The Union Ministry of Surface Transport should provide ropeway projects which would help in improving tourism.

The hoteliers have also demanded that expressway connectivity should be created between Kangra and Chamba district. They said in case Kangra was connected with an express highway with Chamba district, it can create a new tourist circuit linking Kangra, Chamba and Doda areas of the Jammu and Kashmir.

The people connected with the tourism industry further demanded that the Central tourism schemes as Bharat Darshan scheme should be extended to Kangra region. They have also demanded that due to the presence of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala the Buddhist tourist circuit should also be promoted by the Union government in the region by the Government of India.

The state government has already announced Kangra district as the tourism capital of the state.