Shikargah, a famed tourist destination witnessing apathy
Pulwama: Shikargah, a mesmerizing and an attractive tourist spot in Tral town of Pulwama district is craving for government attention. The tourist destination has witnessed official apathy and neglect which has marred its potential of becoming a key tourist attraction.
Situated at an altitude of 2,130 meters from sea level and around 40 Kilometers from Srinagar, Shikargah is famous for Hangul conservation Breeding centre.
Situated at the intersection of Wasturwen and Kherwon mountains which is just 3 kms from Tral town, Shikargah, according to locals resembles with Gulmarg.
“Shikargah however, has an advantage that the night temperatures does not drop to the freezing level as it is situated at much lower altitude than Gulmarg,” said Mohammad Maqbool, a local.
He said that no attention is being provided towards the area and the entire belt has witnessed official neglect.
Notably, Shikargah resort has once been a favourite hunting place for Maharaja Hari Singh.
The place was opened for public in year 2011 to boost local economy and since then local tourist flow has increased but it hasn’t been developed yet as it should have been, locals alleged.
Locals said that the area is not witnessing tourist arrivals as an army camp located at the entry point of Shikargah is proving to be an impediment for them.
“The army men deployed there take possession of the identity card of the visitors and restricts their movement thereby causing inconvenience to them,” they said while demanding removal of army camp from the area.
Even though some public amenities have been developed at the spot but most of them have been kept locked.
“There is no proper transport facility, parking space and market facility available at Shikargah to make it an attractive tourist destination,” said Junaid Ahmad a local resident.
“In May 2017, government had announced that Shikargah will be developed as a picnic spot in Tral to boost tourism in the area besides connecting Tral with Pahalgam through a trekking route however, nothing was done in this regard,” he said.
Director Tourism, Nisar Ahmad Wani, when contacted said that the department has already constructed tourism facilitation and reception centre in the area however, due to security reasons tourism flow is very low in the area.
“The main hindrances in enhancing tourism flow to Shikargah are the disturbed conditions that are prevalent in Tral area. The area is highly volatile as there are certain security concerns that compel us to keep it off the visiting list,” he said.
“However, despite low tourism flow we are developing the area and several developmental schemes have been taken up,” Wani added.
Jahangeer Ganaie
