Asking the people to rise and guard the interests of the State, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti today said the residents of Jammu & Kashmir have to show the way to peace, development and prosperity.Addressing a gathering after laying foundation stone of the corporate office of J&K Cable Car Corporation here this afternoon, the Chief Minister said the people of the State have to create an atmosphere which can lead to friendship, amity and goodwill between the two neighboring countries. She said it is only a peaceful atmosphere which can pave the way for betterment of relations, resolution of issues and frequent interactions across the borders.Terming tourism as a means of integrating people, Mehbooba Mufti said she plans to make Srinagar a tourist destination itself rather than a transit point for tourists, as presently it is. She said many tourist development projects have been taken up in the city which includes development of old city as a heritage destination, development of water transport across the city, introducing para-gliding facilities at Harwan and many other facilities.The Chief Minister said she has plans of making a large park at Tattoo Ground and many other parks in the city to decongest it and provide a recreational space to its inhabitants.
She, however, regretted that Government could not get much time this year to translate these plans into concrete actions and appealed people to help in maintaining peace so that the developmental activities aimed at their welfare are completed.Mehbooba Mufti said she is already in know of the demands and problems of the residents of Batamaloo area adding that these would be prioritized for resolution. She said tourism industry has a good employability factor and once the said city projects are completed, Srinagar would see a huge economic turnaround.Earlier, MLA, Batamaloo, Noor Mohammad in his speech thanked the Chief Minister for bringing the tourism potential of the summer capital city into focus. He hoped that with the initiatives taken by the Chief Minister, Srinagar city would have a developmental and economic turnaround.Earlier, Secretary Tourism, Farooq Ahmad Shah in his welcome address said the Government has flagged tourism development in Srinagar city as a priority. He said Rs. 75 crore are being spent on the beautification of Srinagar city during current year. Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, SJM Gillani, Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, Dr. Farooq Ahmad Lone, several senior officers of Tourism Department, besides a large number of people were present on the occasion.