'Swadesh Darshan will be reinvented in coastal dists'

Minister for Tourism, Kannada and Culture C T Ravi said there was a need to promote ‘Hasta Shilpa’ and Mannupalla Lake in Manipal.

“A comprehensive plan for promoting tourism in the district is being worked out.”

Ravi was speaking at a review meeting held at DC’s office here, on Tuesday.

Tourism-related works worth Rs 16.10 crore were sanctioned to the district and government had released
Rs 8.60 crore so far, Ravi added.

Ravi said ‘Swadesh Darshan’ will be reinvented under PPP (public private partnership mode) in coastal areas.

The government is embarking on offering NGOs the possibilities of adopting monuments belonging to Kannada and Culture and tourism department for maintenance.

Officials informed the minister that the work on five out of the total eight ‘Samskritika Bhavana’ buildings had been completed.

Three others are under construction. The minister said the government was planning a Ranga Mandira to make it Yakhshagana centric.

‘Return Rs 50 lakh’

He instructed the officials to return the amount of Rs 50 lakh, in order to place a demand for more funds.

Kundapura MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty said that the barriers like tagging of eco-sensitive zone, CRZ norms and Kasturirangan reports were posing threat to the promotion of tourism.

He accused officials of creating problems, while clearing a proposal for the tourism projects.

The minister directed officials to coordinate with deputy commissioner before finalising on mapping of the district.

He insisted that the officers should ensure that special tourism zones should be mentioned in the process of mapping.