‘Some people climb mountains while some climb walls,’ says CM Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, launched a coffee table book, “Valleys of Jammu and Kashmir” in Srinagar on Monday. The book documents the unseen and raw beauty of Kashmir Valley’s treks in the upper reaches.

While speaking at the event, CM Omar Abdullah said, “While some people climb on the mountains, some just climb the walls.” Omar made the remark after he had jumped the fence earlier in the day and broken multiple barricades to reach the Martyr’s graveyard in Srinagar’s Nowhatta area. Omar also said that what is very unfortunate is that a book about trekking is being released at a time when most of these routes and treks are closed.

“What is unfortunate is that this book is being released at a time when not even a single trekking route is open. In the last two or three months, a lot of Kashmir tourist places have been closed, and looking at this book is making me very sad. We are hopeful that these routes will open soon. Although this decision is not in our hands. If not for the tourists, they can open them for the locals. The movement of locals over these places will build confidence in the people,” the CM said.

The coffee table book “Valleys of Jammu and Kashmir” has been written by senior bureaucrat and trekking enthusiast Mehmood Ahmad Shah. He serves the Jammu and Kashmir Government as the Managing Director of KPDCL. According to Shah, the book took over 20 years to be finally published. The book has over 114 photographs taken over the last two decades and detailed documentation of 54 high altitude lakes.

Speaking at the event, Shah also thanked Garry Weare, a prominent Australian author and Himalayan expert for writing the foreword of the book. Shah said he had been constantly taking advice from Garry before the publishing of the book.

The book will be helpful to the trekkers and will guide them to take up adventurous journeys and routes in the higher reaches of the valley which have hardly been explored. The book gives exact coordinates of the places and lakes on the higher reaches making it very easy for the trekkers to take these journeys.