India 2018

States and Union Territories 611
of areas (sanctuaries and national parks) so as to accord protection to the various
species of birds and animals facing extinction.
Tourism
The state is endowed with all the basic resources necessary for thriving tourism
activity like geographical and cultural diversity, clean and peaceful
environment and beautiful streams, sacred shrines, historic monuments and
hospitable people. Tourism industry has been given very high priority and the
government has developed appropriate infrastructure for its development
which includes public utility services, roads, communication network, airports,
transport facilities, clean toilets at bus stands, restaurants and petrol pumps,
water supply and other civic amenties. Besides there are 2,604 hotels having
about 70869 of bed facility, about 787 home stay units are there in the state.
Tourism contributes 6.8 per cent to state GDP and it is set to increase.
Incentive of revised rates of electicity duty has been given to the new tourism
industry. Package tours are being developed and focus is kept on the adventure,
religious heritage, winter sports, trekking and outdoor activities.
Government
Governor : Dev Vrat Chief Secretary : Shri V.C. Pharka
Chief Minister : Jai Ram Thakur Jurisdiction of : Himachal Pradesh
High Court
Jammu and Kashmir
Area : *2,22,236 sq km Population : 1.25 crore (2011 census)
Capital : Srinagar (Summer) Principal Languages : Urdu, Dogri,
Jammu (Winter)
Kashmiri,
Pahari, Punjabi,
Ladakhi, Balti, Gojri
and Dadri
* includes 78,114 sq km under illegal occupation of Pakistan, 5,180 sq km illegally
handed over by Pakistan to China and 37,555 sq km under illegal occupation of
China. The population figures exclude population of areas under unlawful
occupation of Pakistan and China where census could not be taken.
History and Geography
According to the most popular legend that is also recorded in Rajtarangani and
Nilmat Purana, two most authoritative books, Kashmir was once a large lake
and it was Kashyap Rishi who drained off the water, making it a beautiful
abode. But geologists have their own theory, which says that geographical
changes made way for the outflow of water by subsidence of the mountain at