The heart of India

IN THE PILGRIM town of Ujjain during the Simhastha Mahakumbh festival. - A.M. FARUQUI

The Madhya Pradesh government plans to tap the State's tourism potential to generate employment and attract international attention.

MADHYA PRADESH, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its creation, is a marvel of nature if its unexplored and yet-to-be-discovered tourism potential is any indication. Nestled amidst the verdant Satpura and Vindhya ranges, the State has over 380 tourist attractions, 18 of which are internationally known, with a wide variety of flora, fauna, historical monuments, magnificent religious places and lush green forests to offer. Except for the snow and sea, it has every conceivable form of natural beauty.

The State is renowned for its magnificent temple architecture. The stunning Khajuraho temple complex, depicting kama in every conceivable pose and form, is India's gift to the world of erotic art. According to a recent survey, Khajuraho is the best-preserved monument of the country. The unbelievable grandeur and spiritualism of the temples has overawed domestic and international tourists for centuries. The State government has arranged for a daily flight to this temple town from Agra in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

While Sanchi, Mandu, Gwalior, Orchcha and Shivpuri are other tourism attractions with great historical and archaeological importance, the nature presents itself in all its glory at places such as Pachmarhi, Amarkantak and Bhedaghat. For the spiritually inclined, Madhya Pradesh has places of religious importance such as Omkareshwar and Ujjain, which has two of the 12 jyotirlingas in the country. Amarkantak, Maheshwar, Chitrakoot and Bhojpur are also renowned for their spiritual significance. For those in love with nature, there can be nothing better than Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Shivpuri and Pench. According to a recent survey, Kanha is the best-managed and Bandhavgarh is the best sighting national park in India. Pachmarhi, Bhopal, Orchcha and Amarkantak have great eco-tourism potential, which is sought to be exploited by the State government.

The State abounds in beautiful reservoirs and rivers where water sports are being promoted. Water sport activities are being encouraged in Tighara in Gwalior, Upper Lake in Bhopal, the Betwa river in Orchcha and the Benisagar Dam in Khajuraho. Adventure sports such as parasailing and hot air ballooning are being promoted. A cruise boat is already in service at Upper Lake in Bhopal and rafting would start soon in the Betwa at Orchcha. Light-and-sound programmes have been started at Gwalior and Khajuraho and they would begin soon at Orchcha and Indore later this year. The State government has identified Burhanpur, Shivpuri and Indore for development as new tourist destinations.

The idea is to develop tourism as an industry and ensure employment generation. The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) has set up marketing offices at Delhi, Agra, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata towards this end. In order to attract more tourists, better facilities are being provided. As many as 44 residential units, with hundreds of rooms, have been provided at 29 tourism centres across the State. Boat clubs are functioning at Bhopal, Pachmarhi and Bargi and air-conditioned tourist buses ply on the Bhopal-Indore and Bhopal-Pachmarhi roads. The MPTDC has a fleet of 56 tourist vehicles at the moment.

To attract investment in the tourism sector, the State government offers land for tourism projects and incentives such as exemption from commercial taxes and entertainment tax. Under the ecological and adventure tourism policy, places have been specified for nature trail, trekking, rock climbing, water rafting and other adventure sports.

Heritage tourism is another area which has been attracting a lot of attention and the State government offers interest subsidy for projects to establish heritage hotels, energy grant, concession in stamp duty and so on. There is also a proposal to develop heritage villages at selected places. The stress is on encouraging private investment for tourism development. The State government has also been providing funds for infrastructure development. A proposal has been forwarded to the Government of India for the inclusion of Sanchi stupas in the international Buddhist circle.

The State's tourism potential has remained unexplored, mainly because of the lack of basic facilities. Now the State government is giving priority to the construction and improvement of roads leading to tourism destinations. The Ministry of Railways has been requested to sanction and complete the Lalitpur-Khajuraho and Jhansi-Mahoba-Khajuraho rail lines in 2006 itself. Efforts are also being made to provide air link to Gwalior and Jabalpur and to develop the airports at Bhopal, Indore and Khajuraho according to international norms.

The MPTDC now provides transport facilities at Gwalior, Ujjain, Indore and other important tourist centres. A conducted tour is organised on Saturdays and Sundays from Indore to Omkareshwar-Maheshwar-Mandu. A tour from Bhopal to Islamnagar-Sanchi-Udaigiri is organised on Saturdays and Sundays. .