Dev of Purmandal-Utterbehni-Surinsar-Mansar tourism circuit underway: Govt

Srinagar, Apr 07: The Jammu & Kashmir government on Monday informed the House that the development of the Purmandal-Utterbehni-Surinsar-Mansar religious tourism circuit is already underway, with Rs 1607.18 lakh allocated under the Capex Budget for the FY 2024-25.
The statement came in response to a question raised by Vijaypur MLA Chander Prakash Ganga, who sought details on the financial allocation for the tourism sector in the Union Territory, with specific reference to District Samba, and inquired whether the government planned to develop the pilgrimage circuit covering the four religious sites.
Responding to the question, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who holds the Tourism portfolio, informed the House that the government has taken several steps to develop the circuit under the UT Sector Capex Budget. “The project is already in progress, with significant investments made in key areas,” he said.
He informed the House that a total of Rs 2958.43 lakh has been spent so far across the four religious sites. “This includes Rs 981.48 lakh for Mansar (Phase-I), Rs 966.57 lakh for Purmandal, Rs 850.33 lakh for Utterbehni, and Rs 160.05 lakh for Surinsar,” the CM said.
“For the current financial year, an additional Rs 117.02 lakh has been earmarked for upgradation and repair of existing tourism infrastructure at these locations to enhance the spiritual tourism experience,” he added.
The CM also informed that the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has agreed in principle to support the development of Utterbehni and Purmandal circuits under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme. “A concept plan worth Rs 35.77 crore has already been submitted to the Ministry for approval,” he said.
Sharing division-wise data on financial allocations to the tourism sector, Abdullah stated, “In 2022-23, Jammu Division was allocated Rs 5685 lakh, while Kashmir Division received Rs 9210 lakh. In 2023-24, the figures rose to Rs 6105 lakh for Jammu and Rs 9527 lakh for Kashmir.”
He further informed that District Samba was allocated Rs 690.85 lakh in 2022-23 and Rs 1130.63 lakh in 2023-24 under the regular Capex Budget.