The fourth edition of the Mughal Road Car Rally was flagged off on Friday here with an aim to encourage adventure tourism in the Kashmir Valley.
The Mughal Road connects Bafliaz, a town in Poonch district, to Shopian in Pulwama district in the Kashmir Valley. The road passes over the Pir Panjal mountain range, which is at an altitude of 3505 meters.
Jammu and Kashmir Home Minister Sajad Ahmad Kichloo flagged off the rally in Srinagar with more than 90 participants.
Kichloo hoped that it would provide boost to tourism industry in the remote regions.
"This will naturally provide a boost to tourism of the state and especially it will provide an impetus to tourism in remote areas," said Kichloo.
The Mughal Road construction project was conceived in the year 1969 and further execution of the project took place in 1977. But after the completion of a 30-kilometer stretch, construction work was stopped.
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The three-day long event has been organised by the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department in association with the Himalayan Motorsport Association.
One of the participants, Aman, said that it was challenging for most of the drivers because of landslides.
"The stage is fantastic specially for the sport. The hilly terrain of Mughal Road and the Sinthan pass has been most scenic places what we have visited with high-speed action. Specially the Mughal rally has been on tarmac. It's a different challenge for most of the drivers because they drive on dirt and this is more challenging because lot of landslides on the stages with broken stones. The tarmac has become slightly rough in certain places," said Aman.
