In a major boost to religious tourism, the government is hopeful of completing by next April the construction of highways through Uttarakhand for Kailash- Mansarovar to make it easy for people to visit the abode of Lord Shiva.
The highways will make the arduous journey to one of the most revered treks at high altitude easily accessible from next year onwards as tough Himalayan rocks are being cut to make highways for reaching Kailash-Mansarovar -- a famous Hindu pilgrimage site in Tibet, Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.
Kailash-Mansarovar in the high altitudes could be reached only through the arduous Lipulekh Pass route and Nathu La Route, opened by China in 2015 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to the Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"Kailash-Mansarovar is the identity of our rich ancient culture and heritage. We want to enhance tourism including religious tourism. We are cutting rocks through Himalayas to make a new alignment of highways through Uttarakhand for going to Mansarovar. It is my sincere effort that the highway is built by April next year," Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told PTI.
He said it is a difficult task to build highways in rugged terrain of Himalayas cutting through its rocks but the work is in full swing.
"We cannot go there ...It has a history. Now are building a new road from Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) for reaching Mansarovar. Himalayan alignment is very difficult. To cut the rocks, we have brought machines from Australia," the Minister said.
Kailash-Mansarovar is believed to be the seat of Hindu God Lord Shiva and Yatra is organised by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) annually with pilgrims requiring to travel to high altitudes through inhospitable and rugged terrains, with a part of the journey overseen by Chinese authorities.
"It is my vision that next April this road will be clear. We can reach Mansarovar directly through Uttarakhand," he added.
He said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is engaged in the project and cutting ice in the Himalayas for the purpose.
Asked about the proposed expenditure on the project, Gadkari said, "We will do whatever expenditure it will entail and I will take the Prime Minister to Mansarovar from this route, which hopefully will be built by April 2017."
The Minister said the 75.54 km route through Ghatiabagarh-Lipulekh Road in Uttarakhand is under construction by the BRO.
The work on this road is being done from Ghatiabagarh at 0km and also from air maintained detachment at Gunji at 45 km.
The connectivity has been achieved up to 62 km towards Lipulekh and up to 29 km towards Ghatiabagarh side. The formation cutting from Ghatibagarh side also been started and reached up to km 2.90. The work on this 10-km stretch was outsourced during December 2015, according to an official.
The adjacent sector stretch of 10 km to 20 km also has been outsourced but work has not yet started on this stretch due to non-connectivity of this stretch from either end, he added.
Gadkari said, "It is a great means for bringing foreign
exchange from overseas and Indian travellers to India... Cruise tourists contribute handsomely to local economies... It has the potential to be a driver of growth for the areas touched by it."
Apart from its huge coastline, India has the geographical advantage as it is strategically located between the Mediterranean and China, he said.
Recently, the Mumbai Port Trust, which has a dedicated berth for cruise tourism, hosted its largest passenger ship Genting Dream with 1,900 passengers. Against 40 ships a year, 59 cruise ships confirmed their visit to Mumbai Port during the current fiscal. The number is expected to rise to 100 next fiscal, an official said.
A cruise ship carries 3,000-4,000 tourists with 1,500-strong crew to various coastal cities, islands, countries, and itself acts like a destination with all entertainment, leisure activities on board.
Listing out the policy initiatives to promote cruise shipping, the minister said ships are now allowed to stay for 3 days, up from the earlier 24 hours, and rules have been simplified to attract more vessels.
He said easier standard operations procedure (SOP) for cruise operations involving multiple agencies has already been issued.
The government has allowed foreign flag vessels carrying passengers to call at Indian ports without securing a licence from the director general of shipping till February 5, 2024.
Also, major ports will offer a minimum of 30 per cent rebate across the board on all vessel related charges for cruise shipping and not levy any priority fees.
"Incentives to attract cruise liners to make major ports as homeports include a rebate of 25 per cent in vessel related charges for coastal cruise movement, in addition to existing 40 per cent rebate for coastal vessel," an official said.
The official said that on land excursions, an average tourist spends USD 70-100 per day and with a cruise ship of 3,000 capacity, this translates into enormous volumes.
Also, average employment on a cruise ship is one job for 3-4 passengers, which translates into a boost for the recruitment sector.
