TAAI convention: Tourism Minister says ‘environmental strategy’ below par

By  Firdous Hassan

Srinagar, Mar 27: Minister for Tourism, Tasaduq Mufti, on Tuesday said the Valley’s “environmental strategy” was below par, as “73 per cent” of the waste finds way to the water bodies.
Mufti, speaking at the inaugural function of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) convention being held here after 30 years, said there was a need to redefine development in the Valley.
“As a department for tourism, we also need to define our wrong policies and a sense of sub-regional identities. We must accept that we lack a language of architecture for taking our culture forward,” he said.
Mufti informed that the Tourism Department was developing a policy to keep “the environmental concerns at the forefront”.
“Our policy will be driven by the protection of forest, water, and land. We are trying to create a workforce, driven by conservation,” he said.
Regarding promotion of the Valley as a tourist destination, Mufti said the “negative perception” about Kashmir needs to be changed, for which, he said, media and the civil society needs to play their roles.
“We start by creating opportunities and talking to the world outside. God willing this will be a very wonderful year, but things could go wrong as they often do, so I think we need to strategise and also make these partnerships more tangible,” he said.
Regarding TAAI convention, Mufti said he desired “enduring partnership with the association”.
“It is great to have TAAI conference here as in many ways it will be a historic event. We couldn’t hope a better starter of the year than this event. So, we are looking for enduring partnership with TAAI ahead,” he said.
“You need to be on a larger platform. This may not be the best place to address issues of peace but we have to discuss the matters of peace more comprehensively.”
Asked about the development of tourist spots along the borders, he said, “Tourism should prosper everywhere irrespective of the area.”
On the occasion, President TAAI, Sunil Kumar, hoped that the convention would promote Kashmir at large by luring tourists to here.
“Once the convention is over, the visibility of Kashmir as tourism destination will multiply many times. And the result will be that more tourists will visits to Kashmir which is our prime goal,” he said.
Describing Kashmir as a “wonderfully-carved” place, Kumar informed about the series of event to be held during the convention.
“The TAAI started with the opening of tulip garden of March 25 as a management committee meeting was held on the same day. We kick started TAAI golf tournament and from tomorrow onwards its business, networking, tourism interaction, knowledge session will follow,” he said.