Jahangeer Ganaie
Pahalgam, Dec 10: The famous tourist destination in South Kashmir—Pahalgam has been witnessing a rise in the footfall of tourists at the picturesque place this winter with the officials claiming that lakhs of people have visited Pahalgam this year.
Officials said all the efforts are being made to keep the famous tourist destination vibrant during winter too.
An official of Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) said that as the infrastructure has been enhanced and there is a good flow of tourists at Pahalgam in winters as well.
“All stakeholders did good business this year as there was a good flow of tourists and due to efforts of every department, the footfall has increased in winters and every effort is being made to keep this destination vibrant round the year,” he said.
“Pahalgam has uninterrupted power supply, water supply and hoteliers have updated heating facilities that has helped to keep Pahalgam alive,” he said, adding that on the eve of the new year, different programmes will be held and the main aim is to attract more and more tourists.
The official said that adventure activities including skiing and snowboarding will be conducted to attract more and more tourists. He said that as infrastructure has been enhanced, Pahalgam now can host thousands of tourists in winters.
He said that a proper mechanism has been put in place to sanitize both Urban and Rural areas of Pahalgam besides that the PDA carries out frequent sanitation drives. He requested the tourists whether domestic, foreign or locals to behave responsibly and avoid using polythene to keep Pahalgam neat and clean.
He said that recently a high level meeting was conducted in which all stakeholders were consulted and many demands were put forth that are being looked into to keep Pahalgam more vibrant. He said that this year there has been very little snowfall so far and they are expecting further increase in the footfall of tourists after the snowfall.
