Chhattisgarh Tourism Minister Ajay Chandrakar on Thursday demanded 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 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. On the occasion, Union Tourism Minister Shripad Naik and Tourism Ministers of other States of the country were also present. 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-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 recently 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 said.Chandrakar 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.Chhattisgarh Tourism Secretary RK Sinha and Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) Managing Director Santosh Kumar Mishra were present at the conference.