Srinagar, 22 May (Hindustan). The three-day ‘G-20 Tourism Working Group’ meeting will begin today (Monday) in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. This is the first major international event in Kashmir since the 1986 cricket match (India-Australia ODI match). India is trying to make the world aware of the beauty of Kashmir through this event. India is presiding over the G-20 summit this year. The entire world is eyeing this event being held in the Kashmir Valley, which has been infamous for terrorism till now. Adequate security arrangements have been made.
Apart from 60 foreign delegates, around 65 representatives of various organizations related to tourism from across the country will participate in this meeting. It is being organized at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Center (SKICC) located on the Dal Lake in Srinagar. In view of the fierceness of the terrorists, unprecedented arrangements have been made for the security of the guests. Navy’s MARCOS commandos, NSG commandos, Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF and other central intelligence agencies are mobilized to conduct the meeting in a calm, safe and confident environment. One thousand CCTVs are active around the venue. The area falling within eight kilometers of the venue has been declared a no-flying zone.
On Wednesday, the last day of the meeting, all the guests would visit Polo View, Jhelum River Front and some other places in Srinagar city to experience the positive change in Kashmir. Of the twenty member countries of the G-20, China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are keeping distance. China had also kept distance from the G-20 conference held in Arunachal Pradesh.
G20 Chief Coordinator Harshvardhan Shringla has said that this is the most important event to be held in Jammu and Kashmir. We have the highest representation of foreign delegates in this Working Group meeting as compared to the earlier two meetings. The first meeting was held in Gujarat’s Rann of Kutch in February and the second in April at Siliguri in West Bengal. Shringla said that India is halfway through its G20 chairmanship. So far we have hosted 118 meetings from the Rann of Kutch to Kohima and from Kanyakumari and now to Kashmir. A draft ‘National Strategy on Film Tourism’ will also be presented to harness the role of films in promoting tourist destinations.
