Despite the immense potential, Jharkhand has lagged behind in the tourism scenario. But within one year, the mineral capital of the nation will emerge as the go-to place for tourists from India and abroad.
To this end, State Tourism Department released its ‘Jharkhand Tourism Policy-2015’ on Sunday. This new tourism policy aims at establishing Jharkhand on the global tourism map, promote its natural beauty and heritage and explore new avenues in various forms of tourism.
“Jharkhand has always been identified for its mineral resources, but that is not all to this State. Ours is a State rich in natural beauty and forest cover. Efforts were not made in the past to promote tourism in the State, so Jharkhand has never been recognised as a favourite tourist destination. But with this new tourism policy, we will make Jharkhand known on the global tourism scenario in the coming five years,” said Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
This policy aims at inviting tourist while preserving the local heritage of Jharkhand, said Tourism Principal Secretary Avinash Kumar.
Tourism Minister Amar Kumar Bauri stated, “We want the world to know that Jharkhand is as rich in heritage, culture, history and scenic beauty as it is in mineral reserves. Those who know about it, come to enjoy it, but this a limited crowd. We wish to let tourists from the all over the world to know about the good experience they can get here.”
A long list of declarations, new and old, to boost the tourism industry in state were made on the occasion.
“Parasnath is our priority; we are in talks with interested parties to develop the temple at par with international standard under PPP mode. The area around Patratu Dam will be developed as marine drive to add to the beauty of the region. We will be spending a corpus of Rs 4.5 crore to better the Rajrappa temple in the next couple of months,” Das said.
He further added, “According to the 13th Finance Commission, Rs 18 crore has been sanctioned for renovating Maluti temples. PM Narendra Modi will inaugurate the renovation process online during his Dumka visit on October 2. Buddhist Circuit and Basukinath Circuit are also nearing completion. We will be developing Baidyanath Dham temple on the lines of Tirupati temple.”
“There should be emphasis on sustained campaign to promote state’s heritage, preserving the tourist spots, using eco-friendly mode of transportation and development and softer aspects of tourism for delivering better experience. Also, equal attention should be given to both domestic and foreign tourists,” said Indian Chamber of Commerce president Shiv Siddhant Kaul.
Concerns over security have always been the biggest hindrance in making Jharkhand a preferable tourist spot. But this issue will be dealt with soon.
“Jharkhand Government guarantees security to every tourist. Regarding this, we are beginning highway patrol from Jamshedpur. A police station will be opened in Parasnath for tourist’s convenience. Criminal outfits endangering the safety of tourists will be decimated in the coming three months,” stated Das.
Plans to explore other forms of tourism such as medical tourism, ecological tourism, sports tourism, mining tourism and more were also shared on this occasion. “We need to brand and market Jharkhand better in the tourism scenario. We have better prospects, all we need to do is develop and present them better,” CM said.