Helicopter service to start soon in Madhya Pradesh for tourists from metropolitan cities

Bhopal: Narmada Valley Development and Tourism Minister Surendra Singh Baghel has informed that comprehensive, simple and transparent tourism policies have been formulated for investors in the last one year with a view to promote tourism in Madhya Pradesh. Helicopter facility is being started soon for tourists from Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur metropolitan cities to the tourist spots of the state. He informed that during the last one year, Rabi crops in 4 lakh 28 thousand hectare area were provided water for irrigation through irrigation projects of Narmada Valley Development Authority. This year, a target has been set to provide irrigation facility for Rabi in one lakh hectare more i.e. 5 lakh 28 thousand hectare area. He said that efforts are being made to ensure about 27 percent increase in Rabi irrigation. Baghel said that on the instructions of Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in the last one year, every drop of water was collected and used and its positive result has come.
Tourism Minister Baghel said that the Mandu Festival is being organized in a grand form in Mandu from 28 December to 1 January. Water Festival will be held in Hanumantiya from 20 December to 20 January and Royal Cuisine Food Festival at Minto Hall, Bhopal from 26 to 29 December. In the food festival, the dishes of the Royal Family of different regions will be prepared by their cooks. “The Great International Yearly Musical Festival Hriday Drishyam” will be organized in Bhopal on 11 and 12 January, 2020 in collaboration with the Tourism Board and the Department of Culture. The Namaste-Orchha Samaroh is being held from 6 to 8 March in Orchha.
Minister Baghel said that attractive grants and concessions for hot air balloon, wild life resort, mega and ultra projects have been given in the Tourism Policy-2019. The state has got the status of Tiger State. Apart from this, provision of 5 percent additional cost capital subsidy has been made for the entrepreneurs of scheduled castes and tribes and for tourism projects to be set up in remote and inaccessible areas. Three new Food Craft Institutes are proposed to be established in the state. In order to provide rural experience to the tourists visiting the state, rural tourism will be promoted in selected villages located near the tourist places. It has been decided that training would be imparted through prestigious groups to connect the youth of the state with the employment opportunities in the tourism sector.
Regarding increasing employment opportunities in the tourism sector in the state, Minister Baghel said that the Branded Hotel Promotion Policy, Farm Stay, Gram Stay Scheme (Registration and Regulation) Scheme-2019 has been formulated. Film Tourism Policy-2019 is being made soon. Currently, about 6-7 film web series have been completed in tourist spots and regions of the state while many are still in progress. This year, BBA course in Travels and Tourism Studies has been started at the M.P Institute of Hospitality. Under water tourism, 15 acknowledgment letters and licenses have been issued for conducting water sports activities in notified Jal Kshetras. Nearly 24 thousand students from a maximum of 8000 schools of the state participated in the tourism quiz competition. Walk festival-2019 was organized in 11 major districts / tourist spots of the state to introduce / promote rich heritage, natural beauty, history, traditions and historical heritage.
Apart from this, travel agent and tour operator training programme M.P. Expert in 12 major cities and road shows at national level were organized in 8 cities of different states. Apart from this, a capital based grant of Rs 17 crore 69 lakhs was given for the establishment of 14 tourism projects, as a result of which an investment of Rs 136 crore was made in the state, which led to the construction of 543 hotel rooms due to which 2050 persons got jobs.Apart from this, regional units Orchha, Khajuraho and Bhopal were developed as destination wedding facilities. Ten hotels with new rooms at Kutni Dam near Khajuraho, 8 room hotels at Manikheda dam and 6 room hotels at Qila Kothi Chanderi were constructed. Development works were undertaken near Buddhist site Deurkothar, Bharhut and Sanchi.