The Union Government plans to develop Arunachal Pradesh as the tourism hub of the North- East region by leveraging its rich cultural diversity. Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the union minister of state for tourism and culture (I/C) and civil aviation, disclosed this on his recent two-day visit to the North-East states including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur. Sharma was accompanied by his cabinet colleague from the region, Kiren Rijiju, the union minister of state for home affairs and senior officials of the ministry of tourism, Government of India. During his visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the minister reviewed the various ongoing tourism projects sponsored by the Government of India in the state.
Dr Sharma later held a meeting with the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Nabam Tuki at Itanagar. During his meeting with Tuki, the Minister highlighted the importance of the North-east especially from the view point of tourism. The minister said, “The North-east has a large unexploited potential for tourism and the Union Tourism Ministry has designated a special circuit for the region under its new Swadesh Darshan scheme.”
The Union Government will help to create the necessary infrastructure and other facilities required for promoting tourism in the region under this scheme. The Minister held a detailed meeting with the senior officials of Arunachal Pradesh on the ongoing projects of the Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
Arunachal Pradesh is known for its biodiversity, unmatched beauty and rich cultural heritage. Yet, of the seven million foreign tourists visiting India, only 5,000 visit the state.
Earlier during the day, Dr. Sharma paid an inspection visit to the ‘Adventure Camping site and Tourist Lodge’ at Bhalukpong, which is funded by the Union Ministry of Tourism, Government of India as a part of Sports and Adventure Tourism project. “Arunachal is ideal for many adventure sports. We hope to develop the state to make it commercially viable,” said a senior tourism department official.
Dr Sharma later laid the foundation stone of a Tourist Lodge at Siddhartha Vihar in Itanagar as part of the ‘Development of Itanagar-Doimukh-Sagalee Circuit’ being developed by the Ministry. The Minister also paid a visit to the Buddhist Gompa near Itanagar. Dr. Sharma also visited Nagaland and Manipur and held high-level meetings with senior officials of the respective state governments. He laid the foundation stone of the Regional Convention Centre of North-East Zonal Cultural Centre (NEZCC) at Dimapur. On his return, he also visited and paid his obeisance at Kamakhya temple in Guwahati. Kamakhya has been identified as one of the twelve cities for the new scheme titled- ‘PRASAD’ (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) of the Ministry of Tourism.