Srinagar June 05 (KNS): One of the most surreal routes in Patnitop Tourism Circuit leading to Shivgarh Dhar, on Saturday witnessed perhaps the first official expedition event.
A group of young adventure enthusiasts trekked upto Shivgarh Dhar as part of Patnitop Development Authority's ongoing efforts to further push the adventure tourism potential as well as cleanliness related initiatives.
Organised in collaboration with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, under the aegis of Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the event saw a participation of around 50 persons from different parts of the country.
Dr Sunil Gupta, IPS, DIG Doda Kishtwar Ramban Range, Nagendra Singh Jamwal, JKAS, Registrar SMVDU, Thakur Sher Singh, JKAS, CEO PDA, flagged off the expedition at Padora meadows.
The students of SMVDU, hailing from Jammu region, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, reached an elevation of approx 2650 mts after covering a distance of around 9.5 kms.
Lush green meadows, wild flowers including foxglove, gushing streams, nomadic dwellings of Gaddis and their flocks greeted the participants on the trek. They saw the remains of the royal refuge of the erstwhile Chenani kings called Shivgarh nestled atop the Dhar Shivgarh affording a dominating view of the Chenani town and River Tawi on one side and River Chenab on the other.
The participants were also made aware about nature conservation, on flora and fauna present in Patnitop forest ranges, ensuring cleanliness and safety during treks, and various tourism destinations in the Patnitop Tourism Circuit.
The participants appreciated the opportunity to explore the bountiful nature, contribute in cleanliness of mountains and savour local Dogra cuisines. They had lit a bonfire and enjoyed art performances on the eve of the trek.
"SMVDU is making all efforts to promote awareness about tourism in Jammu through a series of events. This trek is going to make the students aware and experience the world class treks of Jammu region," said Registrar, SMVDU.
The trek was followed by a Cleanliness and Sanitation Drive on Sunday, coinciding with the occasion of World Environment Day, and in line with 'Carry The Trash Back', and 'Clean Patnitop Green Patnitop'.
The teams of PDA and J&K Police were led by DIG DKR, as they cleaned the areas in the jurisdiction of PDA, and also sensitized the tourists to help keep it clean.
Announcing a few measures, Dr Sunil said that ban on open air cooking on meadows or roads by tourists will be ensured, regular cleanliness drives will be held, vendors, ponywallahs, taxi operators, hoteliers and tourists will be requested to help in achieving the goal.
"With such events, we are trying to bring more wonderful destinations on the tourism map from Patnitop tourism circuit, let more people learn and experience them, and maintain cleanliness and sensitive ecosystem of the region," said CEO PDA.(KNS)