J&K promoting winter sports for more job opportunities

This tourism promotional drive is aimed at generating more employment opportunities for residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

The increase in the number of tourists visiting Kashmir every year has promoted the Government of Jammu and Kashmir into encouraging sports, especially winter sports, in a big way. This promotional drive is also aimed at generating more employment opportunities for residents of the State.

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In one such initiative, the State Tourism Department and the Department of Youth Services and Sports recently organised a four-day long skiing championship at Gulmarg.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad believes the valley's opportunities still need to be tapped on the employment front.

"We need to explore the opportunities in Gulmarg in such a way that it can provide employment not only for the skiers but also for the entire State," said Azad.

With over 65 participants competing in the championship, the gentle, snow-covered slopes teemed with activity as they swooshed down the slopes on their skies each trying to outdo the other to win the tournament.

Sheikh Bashir Ahmed, a participant, said that such events allow the youth to attain higher and new platforms for a better future. "The local youths benefit the most from the ski tournaments organised in Gulmarg because if they explore this sport to the maximum they can become international skiers.

The skiing competition, which concluded over the weekend added a new dimension to winter sport activities in the State while promoting tourism on a large scale.

Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. With its pristine beauty, the State has often been called "Heaven on Earth".

Gulmarg, which is located at an altitude of 8,500 ft in the Pir Panjal ranges of Kashmir, is a bowlshaped plateau of lush green meadow surrounded by a thick forest. Thirty-two miles from Srinagar, with its natural slopes and inclines Gulmarg has emerged as India's premier ski resort.

Last year, a record number of tourists (376,729) visited Kashmir, once Asia's top tourist destinations, with its verdant meadows, snow-capped mountains, pine forests and blue lakes dotted with houseboats.

With peace returning to the Kashmir Valley, tourists from across the country and abroad are making it a point to visit.