Chenab valley The Ignored Part Of Jammu&Kashmir

Chenab Valley is a river valley formed by the Chenab River.

The term is also used to refer to the regions of the Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts of

Jammu Division in Jammu and Kashmir, India.

These districts were formerly part of a single district, called Doda,

Scenic beauty of Chenab valley is left unexplored

Jammu Kashmir Tourism Department is spending huge amounts on advertising and promoting tourism for the Kashmir Valley & Jammu. But till date, no attempt has been made to explore the hilly areas of Chenab Valley for the tourists.

Tourism Department needs to pay attention to developing the scenic and picturesque spots in Chenab valley.

In fact decades ago Lal Draman and Dal Draman, in Doda, had found their place in textbooks of Jammu Kashmir Board of School (JKBOSE) as famous tourist spots. Although, these names made it to the textbooks alongside Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg and others, as of today, Lal Draman and Dal Draman not only failed to make it as world-famous tourists spots but they are also yet to be acknowledged by the people of Jammu Kashmir

Other unexplored areas (Chenab valley )In Kishtwar, Bimal nag Meadow in Drabshalla sub-district of Kishtwar, Mughal Maidan, Chatroo lake, and Sinthan Pass are some of the famous tourist points visited by tourists, while in Ramban, Sansar lakes and Dagantop are popular destinations.

      It is actually true. Kashmir valley lacks really high mountains but has gorgeous Alpine meadows in Places like Aru valley, Gulmarg, Sonmarg, etc. It also has some beautiful alpine lakes like Sheshnag and some famous peaks like Mount kolahui and Harmukh. Some parts of the Kashmir valley are without a doubt one of the most beautiful places on the Planet.However , Chenab valley has even better places especially in Kishtwar district. Kishtwar is probably the most beautiful region of the Himalaya and of the world . There are innumerable peaks, some of which like the Nun kun massif are 7000m+Asl. Peaks like Brahma 1,2, Arjuna, Sickle moon, Hagshu, Agyasol are all 6000m+ and resemble the mountains of Patagonia, only much bigger in Size. The valleys leading to these peaks are just gorgeous and it is still a largely untouched paradise .The law and order situation was bad in Kishtwar in the 90s and Early 2000s. Hindu villages were targeted and many killed to enforce migration and to somehow achieve ethnic cleansing. Army was called in and the area is now pretty safe. As a rule of thumb , Eastern Kishtwar-90% Hindu area with a buddhist and muslim minority is safe. The extremely beautiful Warwan valley is overwhelmingly muslim with good people but the terrorists are active there.The Dacchan area is slightly unsafe but is also extremely gorgeous.  Bhaderwah-Kailash kund area of the Chenab valley is also pretty picturesque. Kishtwar would be an amazing destination to go to if terrorism in Warwan is sorted out. Eastern Kishtwar is also huge and pretty safe with amazing valleys and lofty 6000m+ peaks around. So, if you are planning to visit chenab Valley, visit Eastern Kishtwar (Padder).

Chenab region ignored in sports & Development activities

Chenab region is being ignored by the J&K Sports Council in sports activities, here today.

It was revealed by the office bearers of the Club during a press conference in which patron of the Club, Manzoor A Bhat said that Centre as well as UT administrations are making tall claims to boost sports activities in all parts of the J&K but unfortunately these claims are confined to district Jammu and Srinagar only and ignore other regions including Chenab valley.

the youth of this region have great expectation from the Council, but the officials at the helm of the affair have failed to pay any due attention towards the region and it can be gauged from this fact that despite various requests made to them in the past regarding constituting of District bodies of the Chenab region including Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts but they failed to do so.

The tourism sector in Kishtwar &Doda remains under developed despite having huge potential in the hilly district,”

The development is the basic need still being felt by this neglected region which has huge potential to generate employment as well as develop even the remotest place.”

         The companies involved in power projects togenerate electricity had ignored the sub-region.“They take away electricity and leave locals in great economic distress with no scope for employment,

Chenab Valley has a huge potential to attract tourists but the Tourism Department has ignored it and the picturesque hills and views are hardly explored. The Tourism Department has also not developed proper accommodation and restaurants with modern facilities for the stay of the tourists coming from outside.”

The tourism sector is in a worse condition and there is a need to revamp the sector to generate employment opportunities. 

IGNORED :Separate Divisional Status as Well As StatusThe Chenab valley is a colloquial reference to the three districts of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban in the Jammu province.

The name was first mentioned in a journal, 'The Relief Chronology of Chenab Valley' by Erik Norin in 1926, and later popularised by various social activists, politicians, etc

 There are some departments which differentiate the Chenab region of Jammu province as Chenab Division, like the Central Water Commission (CWC) and various others. 

The valley is surrounded with mountains and shares borders with Kashmir's Anantnag district in North, Kulgam district in West and Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh in the southern side.

The Chenab valley has a population of 9.24 lakh as per the 2011 Census, of which 4.10 lakh population is of Doda district, 2.31 lakh is of Kishtwar and 2.84 lakh is of Ramban district. It has six Assembly constituencies and various delegations regarding bifurcation and creation of new constituencies have met the delimitation commission on their four-day tour of J&K this month. The trio of districts are administered by nine sub-divisions and 36 tehsils.

SEPARATE DIVISIONAL STATUS AND HILL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL DEMAND

The Separate Divisional Status demand was initiated in the early 2000s by civil societies of the erstwhile Doda district, which is now bifurcated into three districts, viz. Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban. After Ladakh got Divisional Status, the movement for separate divisional status for the Chenab Valley increased and various politicians even promised Divisional Status for the Chenab Valley, including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.But for decades, the demand of social and political activists, civil society and other organisations citing that Chenab Valley is a neglected part of the Jammu division in all aspects of developmental priorities, has remained unfulfilled.