New policy to boost tourism on the anvil

Major projects

•  Another Zoo Park in Hyderabad
•  Nature Wellness Center at Ananthagiri,
•  Health Hub in the Fourth City,
•  Development of Keesaragutta on lines of Ramappa temple
•  Gold plating for Raja Gopuram of Yadagirigutta temple
•  Safaris in Kawal and Amrabad tiger reserves

Hyderabad: Aiming to attract more domestic and international tourists, the state government would announce a new Tourism Policy soon, which would include development of more tourist destinations in the state.

Another Zoo Park in Hyderabad, Nature Wellness Center at Ananthagiri, Health Hub on 1,000 acres in the Fourth City, reconstruction of Keesaragutta temple on the lines of Ramappa temple would be some of the initiatives under the state government consideration.

To transform Yadagirigutta temple as the most famous spiritual centre in TG, the government has also decided to constitute Yadagirigutta Temple Board on the lines of TTD for the efficient management of the temple. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed the officials to draft a new law, if necessary, to ensure that the board functions as an autonomous body.

As part of the SPEED (Smart Proactive Efficient and Effective Delivery) review, the Chief Minister held a meeting with top officials on tourism projects, at the Secretariat on Friday.

The high-level meeting decided to formulate separate policies for the development of Temple Tourism, Eco Tourism and Health Tourism.

The Chief Minister asked the officials to promote all the ancient temples, historical places, forest areas and medical facilities in Telangana, turning them as most attractive destinations for tourists from across the country and abroad as well. He instructed forest officials to explore the possibility of establishing safaris in Kawal and Amrabad and also construct cottages for overnight stays at some places. He suggested that all the new projects be taken up with private partnership.

During the review, the Chief Minister announced that a new zoo park would be established outside Hyderabad in an area of about 1,000 acres. It would house a variety of animal and bird species from different areas. The establishment of Vanatara Wildlife Conservation center in 3,000 acres in Jamnagar by Anant Ambani was also discussed at the meeting. The officials were urged to rope in industrialists and organisations to set up such facilities in the state.

About 200 acres of government land would be used to develop health tourism in Ananthagiri region by establishing a nature wellness center on the lines of Jindal Nature Cure Institute in Bangalore. The officials were asked to consult the representatives of Jindal company to develop a wellness centre and also invite reputed organisations involved in the field of naturopathy to open their centers in the state. The CM ordered the officials to prepare plans for the Health City which would come up in an area of 1,000 acres in the Fourth City of Hyderabad.

The CM enquired about the progress of the works and asked the officials to start gold plating work for the Raja Gopuram of Yadagirigutta temple. Taking a serious note of the delays, he asked for a detailed report on the status of the works in the temple within a week.

Renovation of Ramalingeshwara Swamy temple at Keesaragutta and developing it as a replica of the world famous Ramappa temple in Mulugu district was also discussed and finalised at the meeting.