News

Talks begin with stakeholders on developing winter destination near Zojila on Srinagar-Leh Highway

The highways ministry kicked off consultation with stakeholders on Monday to develop a satellite township along the 18-km stretch between Z-Morh and Zojila tunnels on Srinagar-Leh highway. It would be developed as a winter destination with modern facilities for winter sports, luxury accommodation and other necessary infrastructure in collaboration with the administration of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari chaired a preparatory meeting on Monday with the representatives of Ladakh and J&K administration including the J&K lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha and senior officials from the ministry and Border Road Organisation (BRO). “Now all stakeholders would work together for conceptualisation of the projects and a high level committee may be formed. The minister said developing the township will boost tourism and will create employment opportunities for the locals,” said a source. Last week Gadkari had said the plan was to develop a township that can be more beautiful than Davos in Switzerland.

Read more

Maharashtra announces night curfew till January 5

Maharashtra Government announces night curfew between 11 pm to 6 am in the state in all municipal corporations from December 22, 2020, to January 5, 2021. According to Maharashtra government, all passengers coming from Europe and the Middle East will have to mandatorily undergo 15 days institutional quarantine. Passengers coming from other international destinations other than Europe and the Middle East will have to undergo home quarantine. As per Iqbal Singh Chahal, Commissioner, BMC, no flights to land from UK post 2:30 am tomorrow (Tuesday). Passengers who have boarded flights will undergo institutional quarantine. Asymptomatic people will be quarantined at hotels while symptomatic passengers will be admitted at GT Hospital. Just minutes after the Civil aviation ministry banned all flights arriving from the United Kingdom from December 22, the ministry issued a circular stating that all passengers arriving from the UK today and tomorrow will have to undergo mandatory RT-PCR test at airports in India. The circular stated, "As a measure of abundant precaution, passengers arriving from the UK in all transit flights (flights that have taken off or flights which are reaching India before 22nd Dec at 11.59 pm) should be subject to mandatory RT-PCR test on arrival at airports." The circular also mentions that considering the prevailing situation in the UK, the Indian government has decided that all flights originating from the UK to India shall be temporarily suspended till 11:59 pm, December 31. Airlines operating flights to/from India from other countries shall not board any passenger from the UK to India and shall ensure that no passenger coming from the UK is boarded in the flight for any destination in India either directly or indirectly. Earlier in the day, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, tweeted, "We have decided to take all necessary precautions as a result of the situation arising out of the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in some countries. All flights originating from UK into India will be suspended temporarily from 22 Dec to 31 Dec 2020." "Those found positive on arrival should be sent for institutional quarantine set up by state/UT governments, in collaboration with the states/UTs concerned. Those found negative should be advised to isolate at home for 7 days and will be medically monitored by the States/UTs", the tweet added. Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Monday reassured the people of the country that the Central government is alert about the new coronavirus strain emerging from the United Kingdom, adding that there is no need to panic.

Read more

Srinagar: Dal Lake freezes as severe cold wave grips the valley

Jammu and Kashmir recently announced that it will be hosting winter games in a move to attract more tourists in the region. The Union Territory is also planning a number of other activities to provide a boost to tourism. Amid all these, here comes another great news for tourists, and that is the entire Dal Lake has frozen as a result of cold wave in Srinagar. Tourists who are already in the valley are elated to witness the sight, and have claimed it to be a memorable event of the year. While the freezing of Dal Lake led to cheering up the tourists, locals stated that they witnessed cold wave of such severity after years. With not enough snowfall this winter season, the locals are bearing the brunt of severe cold wave. The harshest winter period—Chillai Kalan—begins in the Kashmir valley, as the region continues to experience minus degree temperatures, and as the 40-day event of severe winters commence. Reportedly, Srinagar started experiencing these freezing temperatures from November itself, whereas the region clocked temperatures below -6°C consistently between December 17th and December 20. It has been reported that although such glacial temperatures have hit the region a bit early this season, the lowest temperature recorded so far was -6.6°C on December 19.

Read more

Eco-friendly cruise boats to come up for tourists at Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar Lake

Tourists will have a new attraction in Hyderabad by June 2021–two 80-seater eco-friendly cruises in the famous Hussain Sagar Lake. According to the latest reports published by a Telangana-based news website, Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud has announced that these high-tech eco-friendly cruises will have zero-emission and electric twin inboard motors propulsions. In addition, the cruise ships will have two floors, and tourists can book the cruise for hosting events such as parties. They will be launched around June 2021. News has it that the Telangana government is trying to launch solar and electric boats in water bodies across the region. Apparently, the objective behind such initiatives is to boost tourism in the state. Goud has reportedly examined the status of existing fleet of boats and cruise at the boating centre located at Hussain Sagar. Officials have been instructed to renovate the current fleet with new colours and better seats. The Hussain Sagar is a heart-shaped lake in Hyderabad made in the year 1563. It is fed by the river Musi, and covers a massive area of 5.7 km. A huge monolithic statue of Gautam Buddha stands in the middle of the lake.

Read more

Meghalaya now open for tourists; COVID-19 negative certificate must

Tourists will be are now allowed to visit Meghalaya from Dec 21 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in March this year. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma earlier this month announced his government’s decision of reopening the state for tourists and said that those visiting here will have to adhere to guidelines and health protocols laid out to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “We are reopening tourism in Meghalaya for tourists from outside the State from 21st December, 2020. To ensure the safety of everyone, registration through the @meghtourism app is made mandatory and SOPs are put in place. The Home Of Clouds looks forward to welcoming you,” Sangma said. As per the guidelines, the travellers will have to produce an original report of COVID-19 negative certificate not more than 72 hours old before visiting the state. A Tourism Department official said that registration would be made mandatory for the visitors through a dedicated app of Meghalaya Tourism. The official further said that it will be mandatory for the visitors to upload their photo identity on the app and provide the complete tour itinerary besides showing proof of confirmed booking, PTI reported. After successful registration, tourists will get an e-invite which will have to be produced at the entry checkpoint. A facilitation centre has been set up by the state government at Umling in Ri Bhoi district, where travellers are to mandatorily check in. Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum Chairperson Alan West welcomed the decision and appealed to visitors to strictly follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) put in place to ensure the safety of everyone Last year, more than 12 lakh domestic and international tourists had visited the northeastern state. So far, Meghalaya has reported more than 13,000 cases of coronavirus and 133 deaths due to the highly-contagious disease.

Read more

Kerala Houseboats to woo domestic travellers with heavy discounts

In order to overcome the deep slump in demand due to the pandemic, the Kerala houseboats are offering all kinds of discounts and schemes to customers. The segment of Kerala Tourism industry which was struggling to meet the demand of customers till last year is facing an entirely different scenario this year. The houseboat operators are not only offering discounts up to 50% on their normal tariffs, but are also offering the book-now-and-travel-later kind of schemes to attract customers. The market situation is quite unprecedented, concedes Jobin Akkarakalam, owner of Spice Routes Luxury Cruises, and Vice President of Kerala Houseboat Owners Federation. However, he sees the demand picking up gradually for houseboats during Christmas and the New Year. “Families largely prefer houseboats over hotels during holidays as houseboats are safer,” he says. But this increase in demand is nowhere close to what it was last year. “We are only doing 20 to 30% now compared to last year.” Companies like Spice Routes are making their packages attractive by offering customers 50% discount for packages for all bookings till December 31, which the customers can avail anytime between January 5 and March 31, 2021. The houseboat companies are also eyeing the festive season in Tamil Nadu like Pongal to get some traffic. The operators also want the state government to review its quarantine protocols to remove any kind of confusion in the minds of the domestic travellers. “The Health Department in Kerala is quite strict when it comes to quarantine rules. This is a concern for the tourism sector,” Jobin said. The delay by the India government to reopen international borders and issue tourist visas is also making the process of revival tough since Kerala backwaters and houseboats are quite popular among international tourists.

Read more