Sonamarg Development Authority (SDA) has physically no address in Sonamarg, From past two years, its office in picturesque Sonmarg is closed. The closure of office means, no employees of SDA remain present at the main destination.
Sonamarg Development Authority was set to take care of the tourist destination. It is headed by Chief Executive Officer who is supposed to look into the grievances of shopkeepers, horsemen and other tourist players and subsequently address those grievances.
Sonamarg also hosts a major base camp for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage via the Baltal route gaining popularity with the pilgrims who prefer the shorter route to the much longer one via Pahalgam.
Shopkeepers who run business in Sonmarg told news agency KNT that it was a practice to shift the office of SDA to TRC Srinagar during winters when Sonmarg remain out of bounds for people due to snowfall. “This office worked smoothly till 2017. In the same year, during winters, SDA shifted its winter office from TRC Srinagar to Mani Secretariat Ganderbal and since then it permanently closed its office in Sonmarg,” they said.
They said that sometimes when it is scorching heat in plains, the officials of SDA visit here and spent a night or two and return to Ganderbal. “It is simply a tourist spot for SDA officials and employees. People face hardships to get their grievances addressed,” said Ghulam Muhammad, who runs a tea stall.
“There is an office at Sonamarg but it remains idle. The official work continues to remain affected. For a simple application or any other document one has to either go to Ganderbal and this is happening from past two years,” said Abdul Rashid.
The Sonamarg Development Authority was formed in 2003 for planned development of the tourist resort.