UP to hold Taj Mahotsav from February 18: Minister

Mumbai, Oct 8: Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Kawkab Hameed said the state government will hold Taj Mahotsav celebrations from February 18 to 27 next year.

Talking to reporters here, yesterday Mr Hameed said his department has requested the Supreme Court to allow the tourists to walk upto the periphery of 127 metres against the earlier permit of 323 metres during the five nights (two nights before and two nights after) of full moon for night viewing of the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world. Tickets for the same will be available on the same day.

Every year, nearly 14 crore domestic travellers visit various tourist attractions in the Uttar Pradesh, apart from nearly 13 lakh foreign tourists, he informed.

He also said the plans are afoot to organise the river cruise in Varanasi on the banks of Ganges. Also, the Japanese Bank International Corporation has sanctioned a soft loan of Rs 680 crore for the development of the Buddhist tourist places in the state.

The Minister said Rs eight crore has been sanctioned for the development of Mahabharat circuit (places) in Uttar Pradesh. The excavations are being done by Archeological Survey of India at different places of Mahabharata period, in which some metal substances were found, which could be of the Vedic era.

Mr Hameed, who was in Mumbai to promote the tourism opportunities in Uttar Pradesh, said the government has also made all the necessary preparations for Ardh Kumbh, commencing from January 3 to February 16, in which at least nine crore people are likely to visit the Kumbh mela.

The Minister admitted that the state's tourism budget is comparatively low and said it does not spend much on the advertisement on the lines of other states such as Kerala or Uttaranchal. In all, the state spends Rs 200 crore on tourism every year, he added.

UNI