Ganderbal, Jan 16: To have a firsthand appraisal about the availability of essential services at Sonamarg tourist destination, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ganderbal, Krittika Jyotsna Sunday took a whirlwind tour of Sonamarg and inspected the facilities available there.
An official spokesman said that the DC took stock of the availability of essential services including water and electricity supply, healthcare facilities, and traffic management besides snow clearance from the main road and other link roads.
During the visit, the DC was accompanied by the CEO, Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA), and Tehsildar besides officers of various line departments.
CEO SDA briefed the DC about the availability of essential services and informed that all facilities were available throughout Sonamarg including power and water supply.
While inspecting the snow-clearance operation, the DC was informed that the main road was open for vehicular movement up to Sonamarg.
He was informed that the snow was cleared as per the laid down plan from Gagangeer to Sonamarg to ensure that road remains open while inner link roads were also cleared in a time-bound manner.
The DC complimented all the departments and the staff stationed there including the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Project Beacon, and Police who were engaged in keeping essential services available during winters in Sonamarg due to which Sonamarg remained open for the first time in January.
Meanwhile, the DC inspected the functioning of PHC Sonamarg and Police Station Sonamarg and took stock of the facilities available there.
Inspecting the PHC, it was informed that it was fully functional with sufficient availability of medical and paramedical staff and essential medicines.
The DC instructed the health authorities to keep a team of doctors along with medical aid stationed at the sledge and snow-biking points where tourists visit so that medical help was provided on a real-time basis at these points whenever needed.
Given the spike in COVID-19 cases and the looming threat of COVID 3rd wave, the DC directed the concerned to ensure COVID SOPs were followed strictly besides random COVID sampling was also done.
While enquiring about the winter activities being run in Sonamarg, the CEO said that the sledge and snow-biking activities were continuously going on here besides the first-ever professional Ski course was also run in Sonamarg last week carried by Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports in which over 70 students participated.
Interacting with the officers on the occasion, the DC said that the district administration was committed to promoting Sonamarg as one of the best winter destinations in the entire J&K and instructed all officers to ensure tourists visiting Sonamarg may not face any inconvenience and every possible support shall be provided to visiting tourists.
Earlier, Sonamarg tourist destination remained closed during the winter due to heavy snowfall and avalanches in the Gagangeer area and district administration was taking all necessary steps to ensure Sonamarg remains open for the rest of January also.