Lack of infrastructure, promotion mars winter tourism on Mughal Road

Shopian, Dec 31: Most of the shops in Hirpora, the last village along the heritage Mughal Road from Shopian side are either shut or have very few customers.

The business of the local shopkeepers mostly relies on the opening of the 84 km long mountainous road, connecting Kashmir division’s Shopian district with Rajouri in Jammu region.

Earlier the road was reopened after 48 hours following a fresh snowfall at Dobijan and Peer Ki Gali. However, only a few travelling traveling along the road made a pit stop in the village for a quick cup of tea or breakfast.

Despite its vast tourism potential, the area appears to have been overlooked by the authorities.

A wildlife sanctuary, which is a habitat for wide range of plant and animal species including the majestic Markhor, two historic halting stations—Aliabad and Sukh Sar—a pristine spring , snow-capped jagged mountains and meadows, and thousands of towering pine trees are among many natural and cultural treasures waiting to be explored. However, the lack of promotion and infrastructure mars the tourism potential of the entire area.

"It is rather unfortunate that the area draws very less number of tourists, compared to other tourist destinations of Kashmir", said Gulzar Ahmad Deva, a civil society member from Shopian.

Deva said the lack of basic infrastructure was the key reason for low tourist footfall.

Last winter , when the tourist hot spots like Gulmarg and Pahalgam witnessed almost snowless winters, the Mughal road experienced multiple spells of snowfall helping it to emerge as one of the most sought-after tourist destinations with hundreds of tourists making a beeline for the area.

"This season the area has seen fewer tourists, leaving most of the shopkeepers idle", said a shopkeeper at Heerpora.

A group of officials led by District Commissioner, Shopian Shahid Saleem Dar visited the area on Tuesday to take stock of the renovation and development works of Aliabad and Sukh Saris.

The team also visited Heerpora wildlife sanctuary and reviewed the wildlife services. An official said that the government was creating the infrastructure to promote the area.

"Last year, the tourism department developed some parks and paths along the road", said the official.

He said that recently, the administration took up the issue of providing mobile connectivity along the road with the telecom operators.

"They might have submitted the proposals", added the official.

The official said that the administration was also seriously working on developing the wayside amenities.