The Mainpat Carnival at eco-tourism destination Mainpat in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh would also feature Adventure Sports besides other events during the three-day event. The venue of Adventure Sports would be Mehta Point, Tiger Point and Daldali in Chhattisgarh’s which one of the finest eco-tourism destination known globally.
Besides Adventure sports, various cultural programmes would be held on the three-day Mainpat Carnival slated to take place from February 13 to 15, said District Collector Ritu Sen while addressing a Press conference at the meeting hall of District Office here.
She said that the carnival will be organised with a view to promoting tourism and provide a platform for the locals to showcase their artistic talent.The Collector said that during the festivity, every evening from 4 pm to 6 pm students will showcase their talent on the stage. Thereafter, from 6 pm to 9 pm various cultural programmes would be organised.
Sen said that on the inaugural day of the event, students would perform cultural programme based on an international theme.On February 14, folk dance and folk song based on the theme of Chhattisgarh would be organised at the Carnival. Similarly, on February 15, under the theme “folk dance of India” cultural programme would be presented by the artistes from north, east, west and south zones.
Bus facility would be made available for the travellers from Ambikapur. In addition to this, adequate number of food stalls would be opened at Carnival spot.Surguja Superintendent of Police Sunderraj P informed that a cycle rally would be taken out on February 14 at 8am from Kala Kendra Ground.
It may be recalled that the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) has already drawn up ambitious plans to develop India’s biggest 'Eco-tourism hub' in the State.It has already received a Rs113.5 crore project prioritisation go ahead from the Union Ministry of Tourism to take its plans forward, officials stated.
The CTB, under the aegis of the Chhattisgarh Government has created a blue-print of future tourism plans that will help establish Chhattisgarh as India’s biggest 'Eco-Tourism hub.'
Based on the fact that Chhattisgarh is blessed with 80 per cent bio-diversity and a melange of natural abundance tops in natural tourism where three national parks, 11 wildlife sanctuaries, more than 30 significant waterfalls, abundant caves and untouched natural topography , the CTB seeks to promote tourism in the State at an international level through its ambitious future plans.
State Minister for Culture and Tourism, Ajay Chandrakar, remarked : “Chhattisgarh is a vibrant State which now looks forward towards developing Tourism as one of its richest assets. Based on quality plans and forward looking measures, our aim is to take tourism in Chhattisgarh to millions of national and international tourists while grooming the State in welcoming new tourist arrivals.’
We (CTB) have already been conferred the 'National Tourism Award 2012-13' for the publication of best tourism literature, which we seek to make a common achievement every year by creating more tourism oriented schemes. We aim to establish Chhattisgarh as the top tourist destination in the country, and we are confident that our forward looking measures will definitely help us achieve the same, he said.
Today, the immediate need is to prioritise schemes pertaining to the tourism development and related activities according to the Union Government’s ‘National Tourism Plan.’ A major focus of the prioritization stands in the promotion of the rich & diverse tribal culture, unexplored tourism circuits and development of local-tourism collaboration, with which major milestones like job creation in tribal sectors and improved status of living can be achieved, Chandrakar said.
Once implemented, the go-getting tourism development plans will help in developing the essential eco-tourism in the area, and will enable Chhattisgarh build up as India’s biggest eco-tourism hub, one with probably the biggest potential in South-East Asia, he said.
Santosh Kumar Misra, Managing Director, CTB said, “Our aim is to develop Chhattisgarh as India’s biggest eco-tourism hub. Thus enhanced tourism by ways of earmarked tourism plans will enable us to develop tourism in the State in a never-seen-before magnitude. With our future venture, we seek to see greater participation of the local community that will be the most focused tool to counter Naxalism.
By strengthening tourism through organised and responsible decisions, our aim is to empower the region and showcase it in a positive light to the world. Our focus will be to increase the tourist footfall from the 1.5 million in 2012 to nearly 3 million by 2015, he said.
Notably last year, Chhattisgarh was conferred with a national award in the Tourism sector for the first time after the formation of the State. This award has been given to the new state for promoting tourism through its highly colourful and creatively designed literature at national and international level.
In the Aviation sector, the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur had received the national award as the ‘best airport of the country’ .Within the short span of less than one month, Chhattisgarh has received nine national awards in the various sectors of development.
The Union Tourism Ministry has given this award to the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) for the publication of informative tourism literature in various Indian and foreign languages, besides English.
The CTB has published colourful brochures centred on historical, religious and culturally important centres like Sirpur and Rajim, tourist places like Chitrakot, handicrafts of Chhattisgarh, folk dance and wildlife, in foreign languages, including Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Sinhali, German and Thai. Besides, artistical publicity literatures have been published in Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bangla and Gujarati about tourism important places.
Chhattisgarh Tourism Minister Ajay Chandrakar last year had also demanded from the Centre that the State should be accorded a ‘special category status’ like Jammu and Kashmir and other North-eastern states for development of its tourism industry.
He had raised the demand while attending the conference of state tourism ministers held in New Delhi. The conference was inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. In his address at the conference, Chandrakar insisted that expansion of tourism industry in Chhattisgarh would generate employment opportunities for tribal youth and help in curbing left Wing Extremism (lWE).
He said that Chhattisgarh has immense potential for eco-tourism as 44 per cent of the area of the State is covered with forest. Chandrakar said that the Chhattisgarh government has chalked out an elaborate plan for expansion of tourism in lWE affected areas of Bastar and Surguja.
He requested the Centre to provide assistance for developing ‘Buddhist Tourism Circuit’ in Sirpur. The Minister said that State government has been making efforts to achieve recognition for Sirpur as a ‘World Heritage Site.’ Situated on the banks of River Mahanadi, historical significance of Sirpur is dated back to 6th to 7th century. This place is of great religious importance for Buddhism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism.
The Dalai lama and an envoy of South Korea and Sri lanka had visited Sirpur and appreciated its beauty and historical importance. A number of ancient memorials and ruins has been discovered during excavation on this archaeological site, he had stated.
Chandrakar had also advocated that development of tourism industry in Chhattisgarh will help in creating employment opportunities for youth of the State and will save them from influence of Naxals. In this way, expansion of tourism facilities in Chhattisgarh will also help in curbing Naxal-related violence, he had stated.