Ceasefire violations on IB could delay opening of Suchetgarh border for tourism

Ceasefire violations on IB could delay opening of Suchetgarh border for tourism

Yash Khajuria   

JAMMU, Dec 6: The repeated incidents of ceasefire violation from the other side of the LoC and International Border in recent years have delayed the much hyped Border Tourism Project at Suchetgarh sector, and there are indications that government may put this ambitious project on hold.

Under the project approved by Central Government a park over 150 kanals would be established near the border post and the entry gate which has divided the two nations since the bitter winter war in 1947 when part of state was occupied by Pakistan.

Plan included construction of tourist facilitation centre, land scaping and development of terrace garden with fountains and development of walkway to oversee international border. Apart from this tourist watch tower, war memorial with photo gallery of martyrs of the area, and an amphi-theatre would be constructed at the site.

According The first phase of the Rs 5 crore project is being implemented by Tourism Department and Border Security Force (BSF) to give atheistic look to the border outpost and its surrounding, which till partition of the sub-continent was an important link between Jammu and Sialkote city of Pakistan.

However Director Tourism Robin Singh Mehta said that the project work was on full swing at site and was almost 80 percent complete but the Border Security Force didn't grant permission to set some of the infrastructures including towers at the Border Out Post due to security reasons, the permission for which was sought by the tourism authorities.

Meanwhile, PRO Defence said "This is a matter related to higher authorities that's why the permission not being granted. If the tourism authorities are up to develop the infrastructure for the tourism attraction similar to the one at Wagha Border then, there is a need of NoC from the Pakistan side."

However, DIG BSF Jammu Frontier J S Oberoi said that he was not having any information regarding the permission sought by the tourism authorities for the aforesaid project.

The centrally sponsored project to develop Suchetgarh and Shrine of Baba Chamyal on International Border with Pakistan as major tourist attraction will be completed by the end of year 2013.

Officials said that development of various places of tourist attraction taken under the project “Development of Border Area Tourism Circuit Jammu’ and sanctioned by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is likely to be thrown open for visitors by 2014, making it one of the important attraction in the city.