Kupwara, July 31 (KNS): Long awaited two days Bangus Festival will begin on August 05 in the vast meadows of Bangus Valley of Kupwara district, where authorities will roll out first ever hot-air balloon and Zorbing for visitors.
An official told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that the introduction of hot-air balloon and Zorbing at Bangus Valley is aimed to attract more and more tourists and give them new means of entertainment and adventure.
He said that the two days consortium Bangus festival will be jointly organized by tourism, forest department and army under the guidance of DC Kupwara.
He added that international cricketer and pace sensation from Jammu and Kashmir, Umran Malik is likely to be the chief guest on the occasion.
Meanwhile, locals said that Bangus Valley has seen very low tourist footfall compared to other tourist destinations and it lacks basic facilities such as accommodation and road connectivity that can be seen in other places like Pahalgam and Gulmarg.
They said that even the tourism department is not doing any serious activity to promote the tourist destination.
Meanwhile, an official data has revealed that during the year 2021-22, Bangus Valley has seen 167878 footfall of visitors, including 187 foreigner visitors and two famous cycling groups from Kerla.
Conservator of forests north circle, Irfan Rasool Wani said that development of Bangus Eco-tourism project is underway in which they have constructed log huts, toilet facility and eco-stops.
He said that in the current year they are constructing one more log hut, developing camping site, constructing culverts and setting benches for promoting eco-friendly tourism in Bangus Valley.
He further said that they have also given training to horse owners in Gulmarg and have provided departmental horses to village forest committee members to be used in Bangus Valley.
“We have also constructed huts at Reshwari, Kashtiwar and TeePee at base of Bangus Valley,” he added.
Meanwhile, Lolab Bangus and Drangyadi Development Authority is also on the forefront in developing the bangus valley.
CO Bangus Development Authority, Farooq Ahmad Shah said that the infrastructure in Bangus Valley is being developed on priority basis. (KNS)