Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti threw open 15 days Snow Carnival at the world famous tourist resort Gulmarg today.
The carnival includes a series of activities like skiing, ice hockey, snow sculpting, snow mobile rally, snow rugby, night skiing etc.Legislators, Muhammad Abbas Wani and Anjum Fazili, Bollywood celebrities, Javed Jaffrey, Imran Khan and Illyas Kazmi, Secretary, Tourism, Farooq Shah and a large number of foreign and domestic tourists were present on the occasion.Mehbooba Mufti also inaugurated a shopping arcade and waiting lounge at Gondola base station. It provides resting facility to tourists waiting for the Gondola ride. Besides, it also has a shopping arcade which has on display some exquisite pieces of craft, paintings and artefacts from Kashmir on display.
The Chief Minister went round the stalls and enquired about the products on display. She interacted with many visitors and sought their feedback.The Chief Minister also threw open the renovated Maharaja Palace hotel. The hotel would be one of the major attractions for the heritage loving tourists.The Chief Minister also visited the snow sculptures made by some artists depicting the life and culture of Kashmir. She also inaugurated an ice hockey match at the ice rink and even watched the match for a while.Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer A. Khan; Director, Tourism, Kashmir, Mehmood Shah; CEO, Gulmarg Development Authority, Shafqat Iqbal and other senior officers were present on inauguration of the Snow Carnival.