Hamirpur (HP), October 6 (UNI) The ancient town of Nadaun of Himachal Pradesh, located on the left bank of River Beas on Shimla-Dharamshala national highway, about twenty-eight kilometers away from Hamirpur has seen the revival of water sports after it hosted the National level River Rafting championship, authorities said on Wednesday.

The mighty River Beas originates from Beas Kund in Kullu and reaches Nadaun after crossing through the districts of Kullu, Mandi and thereafter touches the Hamirpur district near village Sachoohi on way to Sujanpur and Nadaun.

The four days long river rafting championship started on October 4 with great fanfare and will end on October 8th.

This place has a close association with the Katoch Dynasty of Kangra. It remained as a major trade center on way from Punjab to the interior areas of Himachal Pradesh. It is still a major trading center for the people of various parts of the district of Hamirpur and the Dehra revenue subdivision of the Kangra district.

People from various parts of the state prefer to visit Nadaun for making purchases of various types of food grains, cutlery items, and manyari items at cheaper rates.

Amidst the Nadaun is the famous building of Amter which exhibits some of the classiest paintings you will ever see.

This town is also famous among the Sikh community as their revered Guru (Guru Govind Singh) had stayed on the left bank of the River Beas where a big Gurudwara is also located where functions are organized from time to time in memory of Guru Sahib Ji.

Nadaun, the summer capital of the Katoch dynasty, has a splendid history and the historical heritage here still tells the story of its ancient glory. Along with its natural beauty, water sports and adventure tourism can play an important role in reviving the splendor of this region, which has been historically, religiously, and commercially important in different periods of history.

From the religious point of view, people from various parts of India visit the town to have a glimpse of the Samadhi of Dhyanu Bhagat who had offered his head to Maan Jwalaji being her ardent devotee.

Similarly, there is also an ancient Shiva temple here which increases its height by one inch after every twelve years.

Moreover, an attraction was added to the town by the local member parliament and now Union Information-cum-Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur by constructing a huge cricket stadium at Amtar village located on the eastern side of the town.

In view of all such attractions, Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department and District Administration have taken a big initiative by organizing All India River Rafting Marathon Series in collaboration with the Indian Rafting Foundation at Nadaun.

Recognized by the World Rafting Foundation, this competition will prove to be a milestone in the development of tourism and adventure sports in Nadaun.

According to experts, the water stream of Beas in Nadaun and the weather here is very favorable for river rafting and other water sports. Experts are also calling Nadaun and its surrounding area a very good site for holding international level river rafting competitions. The possibility of organizing the Asian River Rafting Championships here next year is also being considered and for that, the consent has also been given by HP Sports Minister, Rakesh Pathania while inaugurating the four days river rafting championship here on Monday last.

This initiative taken through river rafting and other water sports in the streams of river Beas will undoubtedly give a new identity to Nadaun as a beautiful tourist destination and a center of water sports in the times to come.

Deputy Commissioner, Debashweta Banik said that the Nadaun town is a very important center of Hamirpur district from a historical, religious, and commercial point of view. There are immense possibilities for adventure sports and adventure tourism here.

In view of this, a river rafting site has been developed here and all necessary facilities will be expanded on this site in the coming time.

She claimed that the ongoing All India River Rafting Marathon Series here will prove to be a milestone in the direction of expansion of adventure sports and tourism in Nadaun.

Brij Mohan Soni, a leading businessman of the town and a former Vice-chairman of Nadaun NAC said that by holding such functions, this historic town will get the due recognition that was due to it for long.

He praised the role of the Hamirpur district administration for organizing such a national-level event.

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