Artificial lake, monument park, riverfront: Jammu is reinventing itself before Amarnath Yatra

A monument park, an artificial lake over the Tawi river and a ring road bypassing NH-44 traffic jams — Jammu city is set for a makeover ahead of this year’s Amarnath Yatra.

The 57-day Yatra will begin simultaneously from the Pahalgam and Baltal routes on Friday. The first batch of around 5,000 pilgrims left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu city early Thursday morning.

The idea, according to officials, is to attract more tourists to Jammu. The move assumes significance as it addresses a major grievance of the local population since the inauguration of the Katra-Srinagar railway line — that it adversely affected Jammu’s economy.

“The aim is to make Jammu a city where people, especially Yatra pilgrims, want to spend more time, and to turn it into a major transit hub,” Devansh Yadav, Jammu Municipal Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of Jammu Smart City Limited, said.

Jammu’s makeover

Spread over 40 kanals (five acres) on the banks of the Tawi river near the Amarnath Yatri Niwas base camp at Bhagwati Nagar, the park has 14 detailed replicas of iconic monuments made primarily from scrap and recycled materials. These include replicas of seven international landmarks, including Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Todaiji — the Great Eastern Temple in Japan, Indus Valley sculptures from Mohenjo-daro, sculptures depicting the Indus Valley civilisation, the Taj Mahal, and even the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab.

The replicas have been handcrafted by artists from Orissa using scrap provided by the Jammu Smart City Mission and the Jammu Municipal Corporation. The project cost Rs 11 crore and employed 150 artists.

Jammu also gets a new riverfront, inspired by Gujarat’s Sabarmati Riverfront. Located near the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas, the under-construction Tawi riverfront stretches over 8 km, of which 2.7 km has been completed. According to officials, the project is designed to boost local tourism, with plans to introduce jet skiing and evening river cruises under the Jammu Smart City project.

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Another feature is an oceanarium — a 20-metre-long glass tunnel with about 400,000 litres of salt water housing 40 varieties of marine fish, including sharks — and a heritage cafeteria with a capacity of 150 guests and an open courtyard library in the Mubarak Mandi complex, the seat of power of the erstwhile Dogra rulers of Jammu and Kashmir.

Among the projects in the works is a 56-km corridor between Raya Morh in Samba district and National Highway 44 near Jagti in Nagrota, 14 km from Jammu city. The four-to-six-lane corridor, aimed at reducing nearly 60 percent of the traffic that passes through Jammu city while on the way to or from Kashmir, is nearly complete.

Earlier this week, J&K’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Tawi Aarti on the banks of the Tawi, and a new light and sound show showcasing Jammu’s significance. Modelled after the iconic Ganga Aarti in Varanasi and Haridwar, it features large ceremonial brass lamps, Vedic chants, conch shell blowing, and floating earthen diyas.

But it is not only Jammu city that the administration is keen to promote. According to officials, the Jammu district administration has plans to push tourism across the district.

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“The Jammu Tourist Corporation Limited will provide e-buses for destinations such as Suchetgarh international border and the Akhnoor fort,” Yadav said.

Both the Suchetgarh international border and Akhnoor Fort are about 30 km from Jammu city.

“It is for the first time that the administration is working to ensure that visiting pilgrims spend some time visiting Jammu city and its surrounding areas instead of straightway proceeding to their destination,” Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Arun Gupta told The Indian Express.

The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine will begin on July 3 from the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district. Around four lakh pilgrims have already registered online for the Yatra.

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The UT’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, flagged off the first batch of over 4,800 pilgrims to Kashmir from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas base camp in Jammu on Thursday morning.