Kargil/ Jan. 24: Union Minister of State (IC) Tourism and Culture, Government of India (GoI) Prahlad Singh Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has planned  to promote adventure tourism in those areas which have lots of potential but still unexplored till date due to various reasons and Kargil district is one among them as it serves as an important destination for undertaking adventure tourism.

The Minister stated this while talking to media during his visit to Linkipal Ski Slopes Kargil here today.

Chairman and Chief Executive Councilor (CEC), LAHDC, Kargil Feroz Ahmed Khan, Executive Councilor (EC) for Agriculture Muhammad Ali Chandan, Deputy Commissioner/CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Baseer ul Haq Choudhary, Director Tourism Ladakh, Kunzes Angmo, Superintendent of Police Kargil Anayat Ali Choudhary, Director Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) Dr Alok Sharma, Consultant Ministry of Tourism GoI and Ex-Director IISM Col J S Dhillon besides officers of Civil and Police Administration, media persons besides a good number of ski players were present on the occasion.   

Prahlad Singh Patel said that the Ministry of Tourism GoI is fully committed to create international level tourism infrastructure in Kargil district so that the feasible environment is created for tourism and employment opportunities.

The Minister said that after Ladakh became a separate Union Territory, he along with a high level team from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture visited Ladakh to hold meetings with Hill Councils of Kargil and Leh to discuss and draw plans for the development of the tourism sector in both the district of Ladakh UT. He also said that Ministry of Home Affairs has opened more than hundred peaks for mountaineering in the country for domestic as well as foreign tourists to promote adventure tourism, which also includes several peaks of Kargil district.

The Minister also said that facilities will be established to impart training and technical support to local people here and empower them adequately to create skilled manpower to serve the tourists in the most professional manner, adding that regular trainings and refresher courses should be organized to achieve this goal which will prove a right step in the direction of quality tourism.

Patel also thanked the CEC, LAHDC, Kargil for his assurance to provide land for developing Ski Slopes at Kargil and assured to provide adequate funds from Ministry of Tourism for development of this area with all kinds of facilities and infrastructure in view of potential of snow skiing.

On this occasion, the Minister was briefed by Dr Alok Sharma and Col J S Dhillon regarding feasibility of the opening of a skiing and mountaineering institute and other facilities like ski lift and gondola to promote both winter and summer season at Linkipal Ski Slopes.

The Minister directed the concerned officers to submit Detailed Project Report in this regard to Ministry of Tourism so that the work for development of Linkipal Ski Slopes can be started from coming summer season once the land demarcation and other necessary formalities are fulfilled. 

The Minister asked officers to work for establishment of basic infrastructure to ensure the setting up of initial facilities before going into the whole project and also stressed that the DPR should be designed in such a way that tourists experience world class snow skiing facilities and hospitality. He also instructed the Director IITTM to consult and take into confidence the LAHDC, Kargil and the District Administration while formulating the DPRs.

The Minister also underlined that refresher courses and trainings should be a regular feature of the proposed institute. He also directed the officers of IITTM and IISM to train the locals as Master Trainers and Trainers for the institute. 
 
The local snow ski players exhibited their skiing skills before the Minister and also demanded for installation of lifting chair/gondola, construction of resting room, providing of snow grooming machines and snow ski equipments.

Later, the Minister also visited the Bodhisattva Maitrya (Future Buddha) statue and the Shargole Cave Monastery and also interacted with the locals and the folk artists.

Member Parliament Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Executive Councillor for Health Muhammad Ali Chandan, Deputy Commissioner and CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Baseer ul Haq Choudhary and other concerned officers accompanied the Minister during the visit.

Meanwhile, the Minister also witnessed the final matches under men’s and women’s category of the IISM Cup under NEAT Kargil 2021 at Ice Hockey Rink Biamathang where he was the chief guest of the event.