|
|||||
|
Located in the foothills of the Shivalik range, Uttaranchal is renowned for its flora and fauna and pilgrimage centres. There are immense opportunities for tourism in the State; nature, wildlife, adventure and religious tourism are some of the options.
Among the top tourism destinations in Uttaranchal are Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehra Dun, Mussoorie, Almora, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, the Jim Corbett National Park, Nainital, Ranikhet and Pithoragarh. Dehra Dun, Mussoorie and Almora are usually packed with sun-scorched souls from the plains during the summer. For the spiritually inclined, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri are the places to visit.
The Jim Corbett National Park is the perfect place in Uttaranchal to get close with wildlife. For adventure-seekers, Uttaranchal offers activities such as high- and low-altitude trekking, river rafting, paragliding, hang-gliding, mountaineering and skiing. The Hatkalika Fair, the Tapkeshwar Fair, the Surkhanda Devi Mela, the Kunjapuri Fair, the Lakhawar Village Fair and the Mata Murti Ka Mela are among the major fairs of the State. The Uttarayani Mela, the Shravan Mela (Jageshwar), Kartik Poornima at Dwarahat, the Kasar Devi Fair, and the Nanda Devi Mela are also major events. No wonder, then, that tourism has emerged as an important sector, strengthening the economy. The government, besides paying attention to improving infrastructure in existing places of tourist interest, has taken up new projects to develop tourist destinations. As a result, the State won the Best Performing State Award for Tourism in 2004, besides two more national awards. It registered its presence on the world tourist map.
The government has already taken up the development of the Pauri-Khirsu-Lansdown circuit at a cost of Rs.4.58 crores and the Pithoragarh-Berinag-Munsiyari circuit at a cost of Rs.4.19 crores. Great attention is also being given to upgrading infrastructure on the Char-Dhaam circuit, namely the Badrinath-Kedarnath-Gangotri-Yamunotri circuit in order to give a boost to religious tourism. The Centre has generously helped the State government in its tourism development initiatives. The Char Dhaam project has already received Rs.7 crores from the Centre.
In order to generate employment at the local level, an ambitious scheme of developing Dayara as an international skiing resort has been undertaken by the government. A hotel management and catering institute of international standards is being set up at Dehra Dun. A unique self-employment scheme, called the Veerchanda Garhwali Paryatan Swarojgar Yojana, has been taken up in a big way. This scheme, which aims at providing financial assistance to educated unemployed for setting up tourist facilities, has been appreciated by the Centre which is considering its implementation all over the country.
The strategy is to project the State as a year-long tourist destination. The Rs.512-crore Corbett Country Destination Project, initiated in Ramnagar Hempur with the support of the private sector, aims at ensuring local people's participation in eco-tourism. For the first time, the government has started a single-window system for the benefit of mountaineers.
In the last two years, several schemes have been implemented for infrastructure development with a capital investment of Rs.1,000 crores from the public sector. Simultaneously, efforts are under way to conserve the historical heritage sites. Manna, the last village on the India-China border, is being developed as a heritage village, as is Jageshwar Dham in Almora. The latest feather in the State's cap is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) award of World Heritage status for the Valley of Flowers. A unique village tourism project has also been initiated, in which participation of villagers is ensured in promoting tourism. At the moment, between 10 and 15 villages benefit from this scheme. Since the creation of the State, tourist arrivals have gone up by 18 per cent. The number of Indian tourists has increased from 1.11 crores in 2000 to 1.38 crores in 2004. Similarly, the number of foreign tourists has increased from 53,933 in 2000 to 74,761 in 2004. All this means increased work opportunities for the local people, reduced migration from villages.
"The idea behind our tourism policy is to associate the local people with our projects so that they stop fleeing their villages in search of employment. This, in turn will help preserve the local culture," said Tourism Secretary Alok Kumar Jain. Already known as a tourist's paradise, Uttaranchal is slated to emerge as a world-class tourist destination.
Printer friendly
page
|
