KTR is game for tourism portfolio in next innings

Hyderabad: The BRS working president, KT Rama Rao, is eyeing the tourism portfolio in the next government of the party, given the huge potential this sector has. The BRS leader said he would make a special request to the Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, for this portfolio.

The BRS leader made these comments while speaking at a session organised by the Business Network International (BNI) in the city on Friday. He appealed to young entrepreneurs to explore new avenues like religious, medical, spiritual, health, sports, and wilderness tourism.

“If BRS is voted to power, I will appeal to CM KCR to allot me the Tourism Department. This is one sector that offers a lot of potential,” Rao said.

Rao further said that there was a lot of tourism potential, especially after many reservoirs were constructed in different areas. He added that the COVID-19 pandemic badly affected the service sector, and things were getting back on track as people were willing to spend money by taking their friends and family out.

The best thing about this sector was that the government's investment would be minimal and many projects could be executed in public-private partnership mode, he said. Citing the example of a 23 kms exclusive cycling track on ORR, KTR said much more was to come. Gandipet and Himayat Sagar could be developed without being polluted, and more weekend avenues have to be developed around Hyderabad, he said.

Rama Rao called on the people to compare the performance of the BRS government with that of the Congress, which ruled for about 65 years. “What BRS could deliver in six and a half years, Congress could not in six decades,” he said.

He said that prominent personalities like super star Rajinikanth and BJP MP Sunny Deol could see the transformation of Hyderabad, but the opposition Gajinis were turning a blind eye to Hyderabad’s development.

Rao highlighted that there was a severe power and water crisis in the State during the Congress rule. He stated that over the past nine and a half years, under the visionary leadership of CM KCR, Telangana has witnessed an unprecedented transformation across multiple domains. Rao said, "The Telangana government’s focus would be on developing social and sporting infrastructure, education and skilling, healthcare, and nurturing entrepreneurship in the next term.”

Explaining the measures taken by the BRS government to support small and medium enterprises, he said the Industrial Health Clinic was set up to help sick units bail out of stress. This was one of its kind in the nation. The agenda was to work with the management during the incipient stage and conduct a techno-economic study, besides working with banks on restructuring loans, he said. Rao stated that the first compliment investors or those returning to the city would give is about the road infrastructure and sanitation. He recalled Foxconn Chairman Young Liu saying during a meeting with CM KCR, "What is the Telangana government doing that has transformed Hyderabad and it does not feel like India?"