A DMK member in Lok Sabha on
Monday demanded starting of a bullet train from Chennai to his constituency Tiruvannamali to promote tourism, contrary to the view taken by its ally Congress on the rapid rail transport.
Participating in the debate on Demand for Grants 2020-21 for Ministry of Tourism, C N Annadurai said his constituency has noted pilgrim sites like the Arunachaleswar Temple.
He said his constituency has no air or train connectivity.
"There should be a bullet train from Chennai to Tiruvannamali," he said.
The DMK is part of the Congress-led UPA, which is opposed to the bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
Satabdi Ray (TMC) said foreigners coming to India for medical reasons should not be treated as tourists.
Taking a dig at the government, she alluded to the recent northeast Delhi violence and said "how will people come to country which witnesses riots".
She said after abrogation of special provisions of Article 370 if Jammu and Kashmir has to be connected to the rest of the country, then new tourists places have to be identified there to boost tourism.
Shrirang Barne (Shiv Sena) said the government should come up with a book that has compilation of all the famous sites in various states.
B V Satyavathi (YSRCP) demanded that folks arts from the state be given monetary assistance for better promotion.
Initiating debate, Vincent Pala (Cong) said there is a huge potential for growth in the sector.
There is no coordination between Tourism Ministry and other ministries like External Affairs and Civil Aviation which inhibits growth of tourism in the country, he said.
Globally, he said, the tourism sector contributes 11 per cent to the total tax collected while 10 per cent of the GDP is generated by the sector.
He said tourism in the country in recent months have been affected by protests over the amended citizenship law in various parts of the country.
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