{"id":20133,"date":"2026-05-17T00:15:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=20133"},"modified":"2026-05-17T00:15:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:15:23","slug":"transport-minister-opts-for-tonga-ride-to-promote-fuel-conservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/17\/transport-minister-opts-for-tonga-ride-to-promote-fuel-conservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Transport Minister opts for Tonga ride to promote fuel conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Srinagar, May 16:\u00a0<\/strong>Minister for Transport, Youth Services &amp; Sports, Satish Sharma, on Saturday opted for a traditional horse-drawn Tonga ride on Gupkar Road instead of an official vehicle, responding to the nationwide appeal for austerity and fuel conservation amid rising economic pressures linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Accompanied by Kunwarani Ritu Singh &#8211; wife of former minister and royal scion Ajatshatru Singh, the minister said the ride aimed to promote the \u201cSave Petrol\u201d campaign while encouraging environmental protection, traditional tourism and reduced fuel consumption.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during the ride, Sharma said the initiative was a \u201csmall gesture\u201d in response to the austerity appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJai Hind, Jai Mata Di. Save petrol and diesel, enjoy nature and avoid pollution. This is a small gesture towards austerity measures. Instead of using cars everywhere, people should consider economical and environmentally friendly alternatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The minister added that the tonga ride reflects Kashmir\u2019s cultural heritage and tourism potential during the peak summer season. \u201cWe want visitors to experience the traditional charm of Kashmir. These horse carriages were once a common sight in the Valley and are part of our heritage. Promoting such modes also supports tourism and local livelihoods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Kunwarani Ritu Singh described the experience as nostalgic, saying the initiative carried both environmental and cultural significance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have left our vehicles behind today to support the message of conserving petrol, diesel and gas. It is also a way of reconnecting with Kashmir\u2019s old traditions while promoting sustainable tourism and protecting the environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>The ride comes amid renewed national-level calls for fuel conservation and austerity measures in view of rising global energy pressures linked to the West Asia crisis<strong>\u2014(KNO)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Srinagar, May 16:\u00a0Minister for Transport, Youth Services &amp; Sports, Satish Sharma, on Saturday opted for a traditional horse-drawn Tonga ride on Gupkar Road instead of an official vehicle, responding to the nationwide appeal for austerity and fuel conservation amid rising economic pressures linked to the ongoing West Asia crisis. Accompanied by Kunwarani Ritu Singh &#8211; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20135,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20133\/revisions\/20135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}