Centre identifies 107 villages for setting up tourist circuits

Kolkata, Aug 18 (UNI) Union Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni today said the Centre had identified 107 villages across the country to set up tourist circuits for promoting tourism and showcasing India's culture and tradition.

Ms Soni, who was here to attend the inauguration of a handicrafts museum at Salt Lake, said thrust had been accorded on low budget tourism rather than five-star show business so that common people in rural villages could have their share of the burgeoning tourism-based economy.

She said India had been catching up like any other developed country in this sector and the policy makers wanted to have a level playing field so that rural people could access dividend out of this economy.

''Why tourists would go only to Victoria Memorial, Taj Mahal, Red Fort and five-star hotels and why not rural areas, which thrive with vibrant culture and tradition,'' Ms Soni said.

She said every year millions and millions of tourists come to this country and the number was increasing day by day, adding that why rural people should not get their share of benefit.

The museum is the first of its kind in the region, where items manufactured by rural artisans would be displayed and sold.

She said the museum was a major landmark, built jointly by the West Bengal government and EZCC (Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre), to fulfil the dream of Mahatma Gandhi for promotion of rural India.

Bengal's Paskura in Bankura district and Raghurajpur near Puri in Orissa are among the identifed villages, where rural tourism circut would come up, she said.

West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi before opening up the museum at sector III said the museum would serve to those people, who were really keeping alive the culture and tradition of the country.

Mr Gandhi, however, underlined the need for a directory, where informations like artisans, artefacts and crafts of all districts would be available.

State Minister for Micro and Small Scale Enterprises Manabendra Mukherjee said the government was building an export hub at Rajarhat for textile and other handicrafts of the rural artisans.

He said Bengal was famous for its handicrafts but its estimated 5.5 lakh artisans were facing tremendous competition because of globalisation.

He said efforts were on to find new areas where artisans could sell their products, adding the government was in the process for making a map of handicrafts of the state.

UNI