JOIN USCome September and Delhiites will get an annual festival of their own.
The Delhi government’s Tourism department is busy chalking out the contours of the programme and an announcement on it is likely to be made soon.
“Till now, the national capital doesn’t have any annual festival like other big cities in the country or world. So, the idea is to start a tradition of such a festival and exhibit Delhi in a major way,” said a senior government official.
The festival will be of 10-15 days in the month of September and will showcase different features of the capital including its history, culture and traditions through different programmes.
Major attractions
One major highlight will be the programmes which will dispel fears among tourists of Delhi being unsafe for women.
“There will be performances involving only women which will show that Delhi is a safe place to visit for people from other states or countries who fear coming to the capital,” he explained.
The government is also working on having performances and food stalls at various locations, extending to National Capital Region (NCR) and not concentrate the festival at just one spot during those 15 days.
“The idea is to engage more and more people, incorporate all sections of the society and celebrate the participation of common man into the administration through various such initiatives by the government,” the official said.
Earlier, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that tourism is one of the top priorities of his government and had promised to develop Delhi as tourists’ hub.
The department is also hoping to complete soon projects like Chhawla-Kanganheri, an eco-tourism park near Najafgarh drain, which are hanging fire for some time now.
“Delhi has the infrastructure for tourism. But, advocacy in Delhi is in a bad shape. We are looking at an active advertisement campaign which will advocate tourism activities,” he said.