Now one can visit Anna's home & Amte family village

In a bid to make tourism more interesting and make it more social-oriented, the Maharashtra government’s Tourism department has planned tours to the village of veteran Gandhian and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and the Amte family among other places.

The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has planned these tours – and these were showcases at the Experimental Tourism Workshop held in Mumbai which was addressed by principal secretary (tourism) Nitin Gadre and the team of MTDC.

“To simply put it, socio-progressive tourism is a holiday that takes you close to the people and projects that are scripting change from the grassroots upwards, and contributing to the cause of nation-building in a long-lasting manner,” MTDC officials said on Friday.

From fighting discrimination to campaigning for equitable distribution of resources to taking health care to the remotest areas of the country to decent treatment of the HIV affected, the sick and the poor—the men and women behind these brave missions deserve to come out of the text-books and newspapers—into our lives, they said.

The Anandvan-Hemalkasa (Chandrapur district) and Shodhgram (Gadhchiroli district) tour effectively showcase the work of late Baba Amte, Prakash Amte, and Dr Abhay and Rani Bang respectively. The Amte family that has three generations fighting malnutrition, malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy in the tribal districts of the Vidarbha; and the vision of Dr Abhay and Rani Bang who took quality medical care to the Gadchiroli district through the Society for Education, Action and Research in Community Health (SEARCH).

In Ralegan Siddhi in Ahmednagar district, one can see the model village of Anna Hazare. It is considered a model of environmental conservation. The village has carried out programs like tree planting, terracing to reduce soil erosion and digging canals to retain rainwater. For energy, the village uses solar power, biogas (some generated from the community toilet) and a windmill. In Hiwre Bazar, also in Ahmednagar district, one can visit see the Popatrao Pawar, who a unique irrigation system and water conservation programme.

Those who are spiritually inclined could sign up for the Ansarwada-Sevalay-Ambejogai pilgrimage at Latur that combines visits to temples along with ‘shrines’ dedicated to the rehabilitation of nomadic tribes, and those who have devoted their lives to caring for the HIV infected.