KATHUA : The Directorate of Tourism Jammu and the Bani Basohli Development Authority celebrated World Environment Day today at the Tourist Reception Centre in Basohli with a number of cultural celebrations and other events. Relevantly, the Department of Tourism is devoted to promoting off-the-beaten-path travel locations and adventure travel under the direction of Secretary of Tourism, Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah.The Tourism Department is promoting adventure tourism as well as leisure and history tourism in Basohli because it is a popular water sports destination for the Jammu region and an off-the-beaten-path tourist destination. With the topic “Beat Plastic Pollution,” which is the official campaign theme of “World Environment Day 2023” and is being celebrated globally with the hashtag #beatplasticpollution, the daylong events started with a “Eco-Tourism Awareness Rally” by the local schoolchildren. The Atal Setu Bridge served as the rally’s starting point, and it ended in TRC Basohli.Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Secretary of Tourism, officially kicked off the celebrations by starting a plantation campaign. Additionally present were Colonel Mahan Singh, the head of the Kathua district development council, Vivekanand Rai, the director of tourism for Jammu, Amarjeet Singh, the joint director for planning for tourism, Yasir Balwan, Desh Raj Bhagat, the CEO of the Bani Basohli Development Authority, and Sunaina Sharma, the joint director for tourism for Jammu. The dignitaries also stopped by departmental kiosks and spoke with the makers of local handicrafts and looms that were on show at the location with the slogan “Humari Pehchann, Humari Kala. A Live Basohli Painting exhibition was also held for the occasion, and the visiting dignitaries were very pleased with it. Additionally, a live demonstration of traditional charkha was presented by the Department of Handloom, J&K. Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary stated that Basohli will be promoted as a top tourist destination in J&K by the Department of Tourism. He further stated that the department will use all reasonable efforts to put it on the tourism map of the entire world with contemporary, cutting-edge facilities and infrastructure. According to him, the Union Tourism Ministry’s “Swadesh Darshan” and other such programmes will help the Tourism Department close any urgent gaps that need to be filled. He urged all parties involved to work together with the department to launch a period of coordinated efforts to advance Basohli. The department’s on-site water sports activities were the main attraction of the celebrations. Along with local stakeholders, the Secretary engaged in water sports activities like boating, jet skiing, and cruises with his team of senior officers.The J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages’ performers gave mesmerising cultural performances during the daylong celebrations, including folk dance, song, and music performances. The celebrations came to an end with the awarding of diplomas to the winners of the live painting competition, in which Shivakashi Sharma took first place, Rekha Rani came in second, and Aastha Billawaria came in third. Abdul Jabbar, Deputy Director of Tourism Publicity, sumesh Sapolia, Chairman MC Basholi, Sushma Thakur, BDC Dhar Mahanpur, Tejinder Singh, a member of the Mahanpur DDC, and officers and representatives from the handicrafts and tourism departments as well as the district administration in Kathua were also present.
