Srinagar: Ahead of the G20 meeting in Srinagar, which is scheduled from May 22 to May 24, Secretary of Ministry of Tourism Arvind Singh on Saturday said, "This is the only meeting to be held in Kashmir. The highest number of delegates registered for attending the meeting here." "A draft will be released on ecotourism. We will be taking delegates for sightseeing and will be giving them return gifts from 'One District One Product'." Responding to a query, he said, "Some countries are not coming due to logistic reasons. We are happy that a large number of delegates are coming and because of it, some changes had to be made to the itinerary. The biggest delegation is coming from Singapore."
Highlighting the importance of the meeting, G20 coordinator Harshvardan Shringla said, "We are halfway and have completed over 118 meetings so far. A few months ago, a lot of construction work was under progress, but today we see a completely transformed city." "A lot of efforts are being made to create awareness among people about G20. Film tourism is specific to Jammu and Kashmir," he added.
He also claimed that the meeting's objective is to boost and revive the culture, tradition and tourism of Jammu and Kashmir. "This will be the most significant event for Jammu and Kashmir. We are happy with the turnout of foreign delegates for this meeting." Speaking about the advisories to those visiting Kashmir, he said, "Advisories mean nothing. Everyone can go anywhere and our focus will be to make foreign tourists know Kashmir." While welcoming the delegates, Jammu and Kashmir's chief secretary Arun Kumar Mehta said, "This year Jammu and Kashmir witnessed the highest tourist footfall. This is just the beginning. Next year you will have trains coming directly from Delhi and in the next six months you will be able to have fun driving to Jammu via road."
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"We have 300 new tourist destinations coming up. The meeting allows J&K to occupy its novel status in tourism. Jammu and Kashmir has immense tourism potential. Foreign tourists have come here in large numbers this year," he said, adding that "Jammu and Kashmir is transforming, experience J&K."
A presentation highlighting the priorities of the G20 Tourism Working Group was also presented by Rajesh Kumar Verma, additional secretary, of the Ministry of Tourism. The presentation also outlined the sessions and events to be held during the G20 meeting. Events will be focused on tourism, films and policies. The delegates will also take for sight sighing on the ultimate day of the summit.
The G20 meeting will take place in Kashmir, thus the civil and police administration is geared up for the event. Local sightseeing and Shikara ride on the Dal Lake in Srinagar are included in the proposed itinerary for the delegates. Over 180 individuals, including international delegations and selected Indian officials, will attend the sessions at the Sher Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), located on the Dal Lakeshore.
The majority of these attendees will be staying at Srinagar's Taj Vivanta and Lalit Grand Palace and artists from Jammu and Kashmir would perform for the delegates. In order to give visiting delegates a taste of Kashmiri culture before the G20 meeting in Kashmir, the walls along the roads leading to the SKICC, where the international delegates will assemble, are being given a facelift.
Large-scale security measures are in place across Kashmir to ensure that the meeting goes without any untoward incident. On Saturday, the Quick Action Team (QAT) and Water Wing of the paramilitary CRPF conducted a combined simulated practice on Dal Lake's waters. Similar security drills were also carried out on the lake on Friday by Marine Commandos (MORCOS). Pertinently, India took up the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022, and would maintain the position for a year. The first G20 Tourism Working Group meeting took place in Gujarat's Rann of Kutch in February, while the second meeting took place in Siliguri, West Bengal, from April 1 to 3.
