Jammu's first Tawi Boating Festival concludes, boosts riverfront tourism

The first-ever Tawi Boating festival concluded on Thursday at the Artificial Lake developed under the Jammu Smart City Limited JSCL project, marking a significant step towards revitalising the Tawi Riverfront and boosting urban tourism.

The first-ever Tawi Boating festival concluded on Thursday at the Artificial Lake developed under the Jammu Smart City Limited (JSCL) project, marking a significant step towards revitalising the Tawi Riverfront and boosting urban tourism. Around 5,000 people availed boating facilities during the two-day festival, with many visitors describing the riverfront as a long-awaited addition to the city's social and tourism landscape, an area emerging as a new hub for leisure and community engagement. Jammu Municipal Corporation Commissioner and CEO JSCL, Devansh Yadav, said the festival has successfully met its objectives. ''The overwhelming public response shows the vision behind rejuvenating the Tawi riverfront. This project aims at creating vibrant, safe and accessible public spaces for citizens,'' he said. He said the festival helped the JSCL test boating operations and safety mechanisms, and based on the experience, tenders will be floated soon to start regular boating and allied recreational activities on a permanent basis, engaging local tourism entrepreneurs. Adequate safety arrangements were made during the festival, including trained personnel, life jackets and rescue infrastructure, to ensure smooth and secure operations, Yadav said. The riverfront remained lively throughout the event, with illuminated embankments, cultural performances by local bands and stalls offering traditional Dogra cuisine. The Irrigation and Flood Control department has played a crucial role in the project by achieving water pondage through the Tawi barrage at the site. Meanwhile, in a powerful continuation of the 77th Republic Day celebrations, the JMC organised a massive human chain across the Tawi Bridge and the riverfront. The event was held under the banner of Swachhtantara 2.0, a flagship initiative aimed at weaving the spirit of patriotism with environmental stewardship, directly supporting the goals of the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, an official spokesman said. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, hundreds of citizens, students and sanitation warriors created a human wall to protect the ''Surya Putri'' Tawi, the lifeline of Jammu. This assembly served as a loud and clear declaration that the community is ready to take ownership of its natural heritage, the spokesman said.

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