A significantly large number of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are planning their long winter trips to Chhattisgarh’s exotic tourist destinations this time round, officials stated.
The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) is receiving huge number of queries from NRIs keen to visit Chhattisgarh’s tourist destinations, they stated.
Sharing the information on the occasion of World Tourism Day with The Pioneer on Sunday, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) Managing Director (MD) Santosh Kumar Misra said, “There is a curiosity among NRIs to see Bastar Dusshera and Sirpur. Also, they find the crafts made in Chhattisgarh very fascinating especially the Bell Metal work and Kosa silk.”
Supporting Misra, a Tourist Information Centre (TIC) official said, “NRIs are not only inquiring about the prominent destinations of the State during this part of the year but have even started visiting them as well.”
Notably, the ongoing Bastar Dusshera is a 75 day long famous festival. It was started by the royal family of the region which at present has become part of the tribal tradition.
Special accommodation arrangements have been made by the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board for the visitors witnessing the Dusshera events. Taking a step in making tourism a friendly affair, the CTB recently launched a guide showcasing the rituals and customs of the Bastar Dusshera. The book also focusses on the history, culture and art of the popular festival.
Meanwhile, Sirpur is known for its archaeological remains and ancient temples.
Interestingly, to update the tourists, CTB is taking help of social media platform and its website. Misra said the New Media tools are helpful in reaching out to the foreigners.
There are over 85,000 likes on the community page of the board on Facebook. The performance depicting Bastar Culture by a group of artists at Mahant Gasidas Memorial Museum on September 26 was highlighted by the Board on the Facebook page which received around 504 likes within 24 hours of the post.
On the other side, the CTB website displays the beauty of the spots including National Parks, Temples and Monuments in segments with photographs.
The Centre had granted ‘in-principle’ approval for including Chhattisgarh in the ‘Tribal Tourism Circuit’ under its ‘Swadesh Darshan’ package, officials stated. The ‘in-principle’ approval was granted in a high-level meeting of officials which was attended by Chhattisgarh Tourism Minister Dayaldas Baghel and Union Minister of State for Tourism ( Independent Charge) Dr Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Notably, the Union Ministry of Tourism launched the following two new schemes pursuant to the Budget 2014-15 announcements--Swadesh Darshan for Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around Specific Themes and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) to beautify and improve the amenities and infrastructure at pilgrimage centres of all faiths.
Funds have been sanctioned to States/UTs for developing tourism destinations and circuits during 2014-15, which includes projects relating to Product/Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits (PIDDC), Human Resource Development (HRD), Fairs and Festivals and Rural Tourism. The Union Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments/Union Territory Administrations for various tourism projects subject to availability of funds, inter-se priority, liquidation of pending utilization certificates against the funds released earlier and adherence to the relevant scheme guidelines.
Twelve theme based circuits i.e. North East Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit and Ramayana Circuit have been identified for development under ‘Swadesh Darshan’.
Under PRASAD, initially twelve cities have been identified namely Ajmer, Amritsar, Amravati, Dwarka, Gaya, Kedarnath, Kamakhaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi and Velankanni.
The revised budget allocation for these schemes in the financial year 2014-15 were Rs20 crore and Rs15.60 crore respectively. In the current financial year, the budget provision for these schemes is Rs600 crore for Swadesh Darshan and
Rs100 crore for PRASAD.
These are Central Sector Schemes, hence State/Union Territory-wise allocations have not been made.