The Hindu : People of Ladakh hopeful of tourist boom

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003

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Other States - Jammu & Kashmir

People of Ladakh hopeful of tourist boom

LEH JUNE 9. With the prospects of opening of the Ladakh-China route for Kailash Mansarovar getting stronger, people here are optimistic that the move initiated by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would give a major boost to tourism in this picturesque mountainous region, which has so far been crying for its share of development in the country.

Tour and travel operators, hotel owners, administrators, politicians and general masses, all feel that the opening of this route through Ladakh would be a boon to the economy, largely dependent on tourism.

The Himalayan pilgrimage of Lord Shiva is of equal significance to the Hindus, Buddhists and Jains, and demands have regularly been made by their religious heads that India should initiate talks with China to open this route.

The tourism industry feels that Ladakh has so far been deprived of its share with no new tourism promotional programes being launched by the Jammu and Kashmir or the Central government.

``The tourism potential of Ladakh has never been exploited and we need initiatives to boost the economy here,'' President of Travel Agents Association of Ladakh (TAAL) P T Kunzang says.

However, the reason for the new found optimism among the people is the announcement made by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani during the just concluded seventh Sindhu Darshan Festival that Mr Vajpayee in his visit to China, beginning June 22, would seek a favourable response on the opening of the Kailash Mansarovar route through Leh-Demsuk-Tibet.

This route to Kailash Mansarovar, which is much shorter, motorable and thus comfortable, if opened, would replace the present difficult route through Pithoragarh in Uttranchal, a larger part of which is covered by trekking.

In fact, it was the result of Mr Vajpayee's initiative as the External Affairs Minister during the Janata Party rule that the Uttaranchal route to Kailash Mansarovar was opened in the early 1980s.

Moreover, this is not the first time that there are talks about the opening of the Leh-Demsuk-Tibet route to Kailash Mansarovar. There have been several attempts in the past, but all were futile.

For Ladakhis, Mr Vajpayee's involvement in the initiative gives them hope of a positive outcome this time.

``We are hopeful because we have a lot of faith in Mr Vajpayee's stewardship. If he tries sincerely, there is no doubt that the route would be opened. The issue will be sorted out soon,'' says Chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Thupstan Chhewang.

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