JOIN USYatra.com adopts Hampi in Karnataka
Online tour and travel company, Yatra.com, has adopted Hampi in Karnataka. The firm is responsible for the basic maintenance and upkeep of the world heritage site of the Unesco.
Ajanta Ellora caves in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, Qutab Minar in Delhi and the iconic Leh Palace are the other three historical sites that have been adopted by Yatra.com.
“We have accepted their (company's) proposal and will issue a letter of intent today,” Tourism Ministry secretary Rashmi Verma told a press conference on Wednesday.
The four historical sites have been handed over to the company under the Tourism Ministry's 'Adopt a heritage site' campaign, rolled out by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function organized here to mark the World Tourism Day on September 27.
TK International Limited, which manages many hotels and resorts, has adopted Konark Sun Temple, Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneshwar and Ratnagiri monument in Madhya Pradesh. The SBI Foundation has adopted Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
“We have received an immense response from India Inc. We have received about 50 proposals under our 'Adopt a heritage site' programme. We have so far approved seven or eight of them,” the secretary said.
Under the programme, a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed by the Tourism Ministry, the Archaeological Survey of India and the organization undertaking the responsibility for basic maintenance and upkeep of the monuments.
“In the first stage, they have to take care of basis things like cleanliness in and around the heritage sites, maintenance and upgrading of toilets, providing basic amenities like drinking water and illumination,” the secretary said.
The Ministry will later do “a gap analysis” in consultation with the company adopting the heritage sites to finalise as to what more could be done for maintenance and upkeep of the sites in the next stage, she added.