News

Andaman increases frequency of helicopter services to remote islands

Due to the drop in the number of COVID-19 cases and also keeping in view the requirement of the islands, the Directorate of Civil Aviation, A & N Administration announced on Sunday the increase in the frequency of helicopter services to Inter-Islands, which was reduced since the lockdown. The new schedule will be effective from February 1, 2021 and the schedule will also cover remote islands like Chowra and Teressa of Nicobar District. As per the new schedule, there will be four weekly services for Campbell Bay area of Great Nicobar Island, which is the last landmass of India, on every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday. For tribal islands Kamorta, Katchal and Teressa there will be four weekly flights on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. For remote Chowra Island there will be two weekly flights on every Tuesday and Wednesday. For the headquarter of Nicobar District, the Car Nicobar Island there will be twelve weekly flights from Monday to Saturday. Similarly, for Mayabunder, the headquarter of North and Middle Andaman there will be six weekly flights from Monday to Saturday. For Diglipur, the northernmost landmass of A & N Islands, there will be five weekly flights on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. For Rangat, Middle Andaman there will be one weekly flight on every Thursday. For Hutbay there will be four weekly flights on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. And for tourist hotspot Swaraj Dweep, the services will be available on Monday and Saturday. Further, all passengers intending to travel to destinations in Nicobar District are to undergo RTPCR Test prior to travel and only those passengers who test negative will be allowed to travel. Besides, passengers travelling to Little Andaman, Mayabunder, Diglipur Rangat and Swaraj Dweep shall also be tested for COVID-19 under Rapid Antigen Test and those who test negative will be allowed to travel. As per details, the RTPCR/Rapid Antigen Test will be conducted on the payment of Rs 200/ - per person which has to be borne by the individual passenger, except government servant on official duty and medical patient along with an attendant.

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Uttarakhand to open 42 more peaks for adventure activities soon

In some good news for trekking and mountaineering enthusiasts, the Uttarakhand government will soon open 42 more mountain peaks for adventure activities, adding to the existing 83 peaks that are accessible to mountaineers and trekkers. This follows a directive from the ministry of home affairs that was issued in 2019 but was held up for implementation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sources in the Uttarakhand tourism department said with the situation now normalising slowly, the move to open up the peaks in the state has started. “The MHA, after reviewing the border situation across the country, had allowed four states to open 137 mountaineering peaks, of which 61 are in J&K, 51 in Uttarakhand and 13 in Sikkim to name a few. The process to get clearances for opening up the peaks in our state has begun,” said Ranveer Negi of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB). “The peaks to be opened up in the state include five peaks of Panchachuli mountain range in Pithoragarh, Janhukut in Uttarkashi and Chirbas Parvat in Uttarkashi. We are in touch with the forest department to coordinate for a single window system for approvals and permission for tourism activities on these peaks,” Vivek Singh Chauhan, joint director of UTDB, told TOI. Of the around 125 peaks in the Himalayan state, 12 are currently open for trekking while rest are for mountaineering activities. Rajiv Bhartari, head of forest force of Uttarakhand, said in order to provide clearance to the 42 peaks for tourism activities, the state forest department had a few days ago formed a four-member committee headed by the chief wildlife warden. He added that “present norms of mountaineering and trekking in the areas where the peaks are located are quite stringent due to the sensitive location and threat to the biodiversity of these areas from poachers.”

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Leh-Kargil road to turn tourist highway

The road from Leh to Kargil will be given a makeover as a tourist highway. This plan has been prepared by the Union Ministry of Culture and Tourism. All facilities for tourists will be developed at regular intervals on 230 km of the highway between Leh and Kargil. With this the journey from Leh to Kargil will be smooth and pleasant. In order to spotlight Kargil in the field of tourism, an action plan is now being prepared for the development of many facilities for tourists here. Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge) Prahlad Singh Patel, said right now there were no public facilities on the route from Leh in Ladakh to Kargil. “We want oxygen parlours to be opened every 20 to 25 km on the highway where oxygen is provided along with medical facility. Arrangements for collecting litter will also be arranged. This infrastructure will be prepared by the Government of India but run by the local villagers,” he said According to Patel, “people do not know much about the hundreds of heritage sites located in Leh-Ladakh and Kargil. The cultural mapping of all the heritage sites is also being done. One will get information from the Union Culture and Tourism Ministry about which heritage sites are located on the road from Leh to Kargil. It will be easier for tourists after making the Leh-Kargil road a tourist highway. They will be able to find public facilities on the ministry’s website.”

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Air Arabia to resume operations with 5 flights a week to Sharjah

Air Arabia would start operating five flights a week between the city and Sharjah from February 8. The airline earlier used to operate only three flights a week - Monday, Wednesday and Saturday - and they were popular with large groups of Indians working in the Middle East and exporters of flowers and fruits. It is the only international airline and route open from the city now. Airport officials confirmed that the low-cost airline has changed its schedule to five days a week. It will operate flights from Monday to Thursday and on Sunday. The flight would leave the city at 4.10am and reach Sharjah at 6.40am local time there. It would then depart from Sharjah at 10.15pm local time and land in the city at 3.30am. R Mahalingam, airport director, says the flight used to run almost full. “It is popular among families, Indians working there and businessmen, among others.” The addition of two more flights is expected to help increase the international passenger traffic, which has dropped by 92.7% in the first seven months of the financial year. The airport had handled only an international passenger traffic of 14,473 during April-December last year, compared to 1,89,032 in the same period in 2019. In December, only 3,247 people had flown abroad, compared to 24,329 in that month in 2019. International flights to Singapore and Colombo are yet to become operational again. While flights to Colombo were operated by the Sri Lankan Airlines, flights to Singapore were operated by the Scoot Airlines. “Passengers to Colombo or Singapore have to fly via Chennai with private Indian carriers,” said an airport official.

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1,000 new Ganga aarti sites in UP govt's plan to boost religious tourism

Aiming to turn Uttar Pradesh into a major religious tourism destination, the state government is going to build 1,038 new Ganga aarti platforms along the river in Bijnor and Ballia districts. Ganga Aarti has been one of the most mesmerising attractions for people coming to the state for religious purposes. An official spokesman said on Saturday that the government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is going to build 1,038 new aarti platforms from Bijnor to Ballia districts, turning them into major spots of religious tourism. The Chief Minister has decided to take Ganga aarti to a whole new level in the state, the spokesman said. According to the plan, which is being executed in cooperation with the Tourism department, the new aarti sites will be constructed in the villages falling in a radius of 5 kilometres of the Ganga river from Bijnor to Ballia. The Ganga aarti will take place on the basis of public participation and will be performed at a fixed time every day, he said. Earlier in December, during a meeting of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, instructions were given to develop ancient and historical religious places and temples in these villages as tourist spots. Starting with Bijnor, this series of aarti will continue till the last village of UP, situated on the banks of the river Ganga in Ballia, he said. For the cleanliness of the Ganga and the Ganga Swachchta Abhiyan, the government is going to start sewage treatment plants in 14 districts soon for the purpose, the spokesman added.

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₹5-crore tourism project chalked out for Kadamakkudy

Close on the heels of notifying Kadamakkudy as an official tourism destination, the Tourism Department has chalked out a project worth ₹5 crore for the idyllic network of islands, which is already a popular hub of cyclists and birdwatchers on account of the presence of migratory birds. The project is proposed on an acre of land in the possession of the Kadamakkudy grama panchayat, for which no-objection certificate will have to be secured from the Panchayat Department. “Among other things, the project proposes to develop a water sports terminal and introduce houseboats. A walking trail is also planned to introduce visitors to the culture and livelihoods of the islanders, including fishing and agriculture. The narrow walkways cutting through the lush green fields will be fortified for the purpose,” said S. Vijayakumar, secretary, District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC). A floating restaurant and cycling and kayaking activities are also being planned as part of the project. A welcome centre will be set up along the Container Terminal Road, probably next to the new bridge connecting Moolampilly to Pizhala island, which may serve as the entry point to Kadamakkudy. “The idea is to bring visitors to the welcome centre, give them an orientation about Kadamakkudy, and then take them on the walking trail,” said Mr. Vijayakumar. The project will be implemented through the Kadamakkudy Aqua Agriculture Tourism Society (KAATS), which was formed about a year ago, with the representation of all stakeholders, including the panchayat, various government departments, and farming communities with the object of promoting farm and rural tourism. “The society proposes to develop some 100 start-ups related to sustainable agriculture in due course and that coupled with the tourism project will help develop Kadamakkudy into a farm tourism hub,” said Mahesh Gopalakrishnan, project consultant, KAATS. Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in Kadamakkudy panchayat committee is yet to formally take up the tourism project. “Though we are aware of the project proposed on our land, the committee has not discussed it yet,” said Mary Vincent, panchayat president.

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