A special bus service — Jammu Darshan — was flagged off by the tourism department for the Amarnath pilgrims staying in the Yatri Niwas in Jammu on Saturday, an official spokesperson said. This special endeavour has been made to promote the tourist spots of Jammu amongst incoming pilgrims and other vacationers, the spokesperson said.
He said the pilgrims, on board four Jammu and Kashmir Road Transport Corporation buses, were taken from Yatri Niwas Bhagwati Nagar to places of tourist attraction of Jammu city.
Pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat and Maharashtra enjoyed the day-long trip and hailed the tourism department for promoting the potential destinations of Jammu and providing them with a great opportunity to visit these places, the spokesperson said.
Director of Tourism Jammu, Vivekanand Rai who flagged off the bus service, said it will be a regular feature for the benefit of the pilgrims, especially during the suspension of yatra so that they can enjoy the locales of Jammu city and its vicinity during the day trips.
Joint Director of Tourism Jammu, Sunaina Sharma Mehta said the bus service shall help promote local destinations of Akhnoor, Jhiri, Suchetgarh, Purmandal, Mansar and Surinsar.
“The bus service shall be a regular feature for the entire yatra period and is a collaborative effort of the directorate of Tourism Jammu along with JKRTC and district administration Jammu,” she said.
She said the bus service would be available to the tourists on Jammu-Akhnoor-Jhiri circuit, Amar Mahal Museum-Bahu Fort-Jammu, Gandola-Tirupati Balaji Temple, Majeen-Aquaplex Crown, Musical Fountain circuit, Jammu-Surinsar-Mansar-Manwal Temples and Jammu-Purmandal-Utterbehni Circuit.
The government said that various innovative measures have been introduced, including the distribution of reusable cloth bags, waste process monitoring, and the creation of a yatra anthem for sustainable tourism. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has highlighted the importance of instilling a sense of responsibility towards the environment among the pilgrims.
