Kashmir Magazine By : Kashmir Magazine | Srinagar, Publish Date: Friday, January 14, 2022 1:28:45 AM | Updated Date : Friday, January 14, 2022 1:28:45 AM
Tasaduq Rasheed
The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department organized a 7-day long winter carnival 2021 at Pahalgam and famous ski resort Gulmarg on New Year eve. The carnival saw 7-day long performances from the field of music, dance, dramas and exhibition of winter games, street foods among others.
The New Year day celebrations took place at Pahalgam club and saw massive participation by tourists and locals.
The highlight of the event was the performance by Bollywood singer Rohanprit Singh who brought the crowd to its feet with his numbers. The event also saw participation by local cultural groups among others.
On this occasion, Secretary Tourism also released the Digital Calendar of the Tourism Department.
Prior to this, the department had organized weeklong musical evenings, which saw the participation of locals and tourists. Locals and tourists alike lauded the department and district administration for their promotion and publicity of Pahalgam as a winter destination.
Similar activities were held at the ski resort of Gulmarg where local artists and singers displayed their talent and enthralled the audience. A good number of stalls depicting Kashmiri culture and heritage were installed at the event.
Talking exclusively to The Kashmir Magazine, Commissioner Secretary to the government, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department, Sarmad Hafeez said that it was wonderful to start the New Year with a winter carnival at Pahalgam and it was definitely a good omen. He said that more than 4.5 lakh tourists have visited Pahalgam.
He said that Pahalgam is fast emerging as a major winter tourist destination and the department was committed to putting Pahalgam and Sonamarg on the tourist map for winter tourism.
“The beauty, openness, clean air of Pahalgam is a perfect place for the people all over the country to come and visit here. The brightness here itself speaks a lot that how much people are loving the place. There is so much brightness and festivity in Pahalgam which indicates that how welcoming and hospitable the local people are,” he said.
He said that the department is looking forward to a good influx of tourists this year as well as was in the year 2021. “The department is carrying forward the tourism keeping in view all the COVID protocols. All the tourists visiting here are fully vaccinated, besides following all the SOP’s,” he added.
He further said that Pahalgam is a summer destination but this year winter tourism has been started here which is a good sign and due to this winter tourism lots of tourists are visiting Pahalgam.
“The department of tourism took an initiative along with the hoteliers and locals to celebrate the beauty of Pahalgam. The celebration at Pahalgam is a declaration for being one of the most beautiful winter destinations in the world,” Hafeez said.
He also said that this year government has decided to keep open all the beautiful destinations in winter besides Gulmarg.
“Sonamarg will also be open this year in winters along with all the other tourist destinations. The department is making efforts to provide varied experience to tourists by keeping all the destinations open so that they can enjoy the beauty of the places,” he said
Meanwhile, director Tourism Kashmir, Dr GN Itoo said on the occasion that the department organized the Winter Carnival to showcase the scenic beauty of Pahalgam.
He said such events are not only important to boost tourism but also promote Pahalgam as a major film-shooting destination and he hoped that the film industry visits Pahalgam and Gulmarg for shootings.