Tourism a tool to end poverty: Jagmohan

"India has for long been a sleeping giant for tourism and culture, but the giant is now awake. For the past two months, a nationwide result-oriented programme has been taken up to put India on the world tourism map," Union minister of tourism Jagmohan said.

The minister was in Dholavira in Gujarat on Thursday to complete the final stages of a central government project at the site, where a civilisation existed more than 5000 years ago.

Listing out the steps being taken to create centres of excellence and improve the quality of life of people living around these centres, the minister said an attempt is being made to synthesise culture, tourism, civic life and the upgraded environment and put in place a focussed and result-oriented machinery for implementing the projects.

"A lot of planning and paperwork is done, but the problem is with implementation, which is now being looked into," he said.

The minister said the huge heritage of India must be showcased before the world.

Giving examples, Jagmohan said the carvings at Ajanta and Ellora, and Buddhist and Jain art and architecture are unparalleled in the world.

"There are several smaller sites that have been long neglected and our endeavour is to revive these," he said.

The government, through the `Incredible India' campaign, has also been trying to popularise tourism projects in the country. Small video clips of the campaign have already begun appearing on channels like BBC, National Geographic and CNN.

"Foreigners are very interested in excavation sites and heritage monuments and these are being shown in the video footage of the advertisements," Jagmohan said.

He said it is time that the government sees tourism as a tool for poverty removal, job creation, empowering women and making of an equitable society.

"If the flow of tourists increases, the local population will benefit economically," he said.

Commenting on the excavations that have been initiated from Haryana to Gujarat, Jagmohan said the Adi Bhadri (Haryana) to Dholavira (Gujarat) excavations could well turn out to be the greatest excavations undertaken anytime in the world.

"The kind of artifacts unearthed so far are similar across this stretch and a civilisation could not have existed without the presence of a water body close to it. If it is proven beyond doubt that the Saraswati river flowed through this belt, then it will change the perspective of Indian history besides making this belt one of the most sought after by excavators around the world," the minister said.