Anantnag: Pahalgam, arguably the most famous tourist destination of the Kashmir valley and thronged by thousands of tourists every year, continues to function without a Tourist Reception Centre (TRC), more than eight years after the old TRC building was gutted in a massive blaze.
This is despite the fact that a record-breaking number of tourists visited Kashmir valley in 2022, and ways are being devised to promote Pahalgam as a winter tourism destination.
“This is the most important aspect of promoting tourism. Without a TRC, the other efforts to boost tourism are hard to bear any fruits,” a source in the Tourism department told Kashmir Reader.
The old TRC, located in the main market of Pahalgam town, was reduced to rubble in a blaze in the year 2014 along with some other properties. Subsequently, the then Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed directed the revenue officials to identify land for the construction of a new TRC.
“Mufti was of the opinion that the TRC in the main market blocked the view of the hills and he wanted the land to be identified for the new TRC, which would also overcome that shortcoming,” the source in the Tourism department said.
After much ado, and more than six years after the blaze, land was finally identified in Pahalgam for the reconstruction of the TRC. However, following the identification of the land, there has been no headway whatsoever in this regard.
Kashmir Reader talked to the Assistant Director of Tourism in Pahalgam, Bilal Ahmad, who said that the engineering wing of the Tourism department has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the construction of the TRC.
“No steps have been taken to initiate the process after the DPR was submitted,” the AD said, “We are awaiting a nod from the administration.”
Tourism players in Pahalgam say that the lack of a TRC was something that they cannot fulfill, no matter how good their services are. “It asserts a certain trust among the tourists, and there is always an overseeing authority on the conduct of business. It is unfortunate that a place with such immense tourism potential is functioning without a TRC,” a local hotel owner told Kashmir Reader.
Ironically, the Pahalgam Development Authority (PDA) seems to have no idea regarding the matter. Kashmir Reader talked to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the PDA, Sajad Qadri, who said that he was not aware of the situation.
“I have joined the place recently and am getting to know about things, one at a time. For now, I do not have an idea regarding the TRC,” Qadri said.

Suhail A Shah