Sharad Mehrotra, a local business man from Uttar Pradesh, is fond of going on pilgrimage tours. He has visited many places including Mathura, Chitrakoot, Varanasi and Shravasti. However, often these “visits consume a lot of time” owing to the time taken for commutation. “My business activities do not always permit me that, though there is desire,” he said.
However, the Uttar Pradesh government's latest drive to promote religious tourism looks to alleviate such concerns. Taking a leaf out of the famous Disneyland, the state government is planning to develop a ‘Krishna Land’ in Mathura. Authorities have also initiated efforts to link various prominent religious spots like Mathura, Chitrakoot, Vrindavan, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Vindhyachal with cheap-chopper services.
In addition, the government has plans to begin helicopter services for a ‘Parikrama’ (aerial tour) of ‘Govardhan’ in Mathura. These could be useful for senior citizens who are unable to walk. The aerial tour is likely to be priced at Rs 2,499 per person and will have online booking facility. According to current plans, the chopper will take off from DAV college helipad.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has already held a meeting with civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju in this regard, while Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar has directed the tourism department to prepare a proposal on the same.
The chief minister has also asked tourism department officials to expedite work in this connection. The chopper services will be initiated with the help of public-private participation, the modalities for which are being worked out. The state government will seek help from the Centre and provide air connectivity to these places under the latter's plans to provide air service at a low cost.
“My aim is to make UP the No. 1 destination in the country and my government is seriously working in this direction,” said an elated Adityanath. He added that a boost in tourism could help in giving a fillip to the economy of the state.
The government wants to begin the aerial services in time for the ‘Ardh Kumbh’(mega religious festival) which will be held in 2019.
Meanwhile, the state government also plans to spruce up the Gorakhpur airport, and connect it to cities like Kolkata, Kathmandu, Singapore and Bangkok to promote it as a Buddhist tourist circuit.
To assist the potential tourist surge, thanks to these initiatives, the government is planning to appoint 500 tourist police at various tourist destinations.
This is not the first time that such an initiative is being considered by the UP government. The previous SP regime also had plans to link religious places with chopper services for which Pawan Hans was contacted; but not much headway came in this direction. The previous government also created a heritage arc combining Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi. However, SP lost power in the state before the plan could bear fruits.
UP attracts approximately 226 million domestic and about over two million foreign tourists. Currently, UP has functional airports for tourists at Lucknow and Varanasi, which largely caters to tourists, in eastern UP. Gorakhpur airport has limited flights.
Hailing the governmental efforts, Sandeep Mathur, a local tourist, said, “The government's move is certainly appreciable. This will not only promote religious tourism in the state but will also give a good chance to those like-minded people who want to visit such scared cities.”
