A ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign will soon be launched to keep the key tourist spots of the City Beautiful clean and appealing.
Aimed at giving a boost to tourism in Chandigarh, the UT Administration has swung into action to launch ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign, under which the places with higher tourists’ influx would be cleaned round-the-clock.
Besides the major tourists’ spots, the entry points to Chandigarh, major roads, airports, railway station and other places where the tourists’ inflow is much higher would be frequently cleaned throughout the day.
The UT Tourism Department will join hands with NGOs and other private organisations to execute this campaign.
The ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign will be launched under the ‘Clean India’ campaign launched by the Union Ministry of Tourism aimed at attracting more tourists in the country by improving cleanliness and hygienic conditions at tourist destinations.
While talking to The Pioneer, AK Malhotra, General Manger (Tourism), Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Corporation limited (CITCO) said, “The UT Tourism Department has decided to launch ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign shortly. The campaign is aimed at keeping the tourist spots clean and beautiful at all times.
“Under this, the Tourism Department will identify the locations where the tourists’ influx is higher in the city. Subsequently, a plan would be chalked out to ensure cleanliness of these places. To begin with, major tourist destinations would be covered under this. later, the entry points to Chandigarh from Zirakpur, Panchkula, Mohali will also be beautified and kept clean at all times,” he said.
“The cleaning process will be on-going round the clock and other stakeholders will also be involved in the campaign,” he added.
A meeting regarding the ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign was held on Monday where the UT senior officials deliberated on how to go about the implementation of the campaign.
Malhotra said, “Apart from major tourist spots, places like shopping complex, airports, railway station are likely to be covered under the campaign. The UT Tourism Department has initiated the process to chalk out a plan for the campaign. Soon, the proposal will be finalised and the private organisations will also work with the UT Tourism Department to execute the ‘Clean Chandigarh’ campaign.”
Chandigarh, a notable creation of French architect le Corbusier has a number of far-famed tourists’ spots including Rock Garden, Rose Garden, Capitol Complex, Sukhna lake among others places.
The city plays a pivotal role in promotion of transit tourism in this region as it is located on the tourism circuit comprising Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu and Manali. The city is a gateway to the blessed land of Punjab, historical battlefields of Haryana, breathtaking hills of Himachal Pradesh and picturesque valleys of Jammu & Kashmir.
According to the data with the UT Tourism Department, the city has seen highest tourists’ arrival in the year 2013 as compared to the previous years. About 9.3 lakh domestic tourists and nearly 40,000 foreign tourists visited the city in 2013. In the previous year 2012, the city had registered 9.2 lakh domestic tourists and 34,130 foreign tourists.
Recently, the UT Administration had launched ‘Weekends in Chandigarh’, an initiative launched to enrich the experience of tourists with five elements including “shopping, accommodation, dining, fun and entertainment” in Chandigarh.
Also, to boost eco-tourism, a Nature Interpretation Centre was opened at the regulator end of Sukhna lake. Besides, festivals like Chandigarh Street Art and Street Food festival, Ice Cream Festival, Coffee Festival, Amritsari Food Festival, International Puppet Festival, Awadh Food Festival among others were introduced and have become a regular annual feature in the city to woo
the tourists.