CEO DDA says increase in visitors during winter due to snow-free road, ‘two tented colonies to be established this year’
Naveed ul Haq
Budgam, May 13: Doodhpathri, a famous tourist destination in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, is witnessing a record-breaking number of tourists, with nearly two lakh people visiting the place in the last four months.
According to data available with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the first four months of the current year saw 35,994 visitors, reflecting more than five times with 1,85,620 arrivals this year so far.
It reveals that the place is fast becoming a winter tourist spot, as December 2021 saw 4,150 visitors while in December 2022, 15,828 tourists visited the meadow.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Doodpathri Development Authority (DDA) Nargis Suraya while talking to KNO said the increase in footfall of visitors during winter months was possible by keeping the road towards the tourist destination clear of snow.
“We are going to establish tented colonies at two different locations at Doodpathri to attract more tourists to the meadow. We will take every single step which will help the destination to become more attractive for locals as well as national and international tourists,” she said. “An initiative to establish a tented colony for night stays was launched last year and was loved by visitors. As a result, we have decided to establish it at two distinct locations very soon.”
This year, we anticipate a surge that is more than double what we have seen so far at Doodpathri, Nargis said, adding that in order to maintain the cleanliness of the place, it has been decided to engage both seasonal and casual labourers.
Nargis said three amusement parks are opening at the location since the number of tourists is already high and is expected to increase.
When asked about the location’s network connectivity issue, she said that BSNL has found the site and has sought to transfer it from the forest department. “This transfer will take place soon and a mobile tower will then be installed,” she said—(KNO)
