Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (PH)

Udupi, Oct 2: C T Ravi, minister for tourism, Karnataka government, held a press meet in the DC office on Tuesday, October 1.

The minister mentioned said, “Some of the tourist spots recognized by UNESCO are Patadakallu, Hampi, Western Ghats, five national parks, 30 wildlife sanctuaries, 17 hill stations and 40 waterfalls. These tourist spots are to be promoted and marketing must be done effectively so that more and more tourists are attracted to these places.”

Speaking about Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, C T Ravi said, “These two districts are known for temple tourism. People visit Kollur, Udupi, Kateel and Dharmasthala temples. But in coming days we must engage the tourists to take part in some events or sports and indulge themselves in some activities so that they come to know more about the places and also see that the business grows in those places. In this year’s Dasara, tourists were shown how actually a village atmosphere is and how agriculture is given prominence in villages.”

Speaking about Udupi district, the minister said, “A sum of Rs 16.10 crore is sanctioned for tourism and already Rs eight crore, out of this is released by the government. Kambala is the culture of Tulunadu and it attracts lots of tourists and hence special focus must be given to Kambala and an international event on Kambala must be held so that tourists across the world come to know about it and the culture of Tulunadu.”

C T Ravi also said that he would discuss with district administration and know whether celebrating so much of jayantis in the district is necessary or not.

When asked about Tipu Jayanti, C T Ravi said, “BJP is not against Muslims. We are only against Tipu Jayanti. On the contrary, we would be happy if people come together and celebrate Shishunala Shareef Jayanti and Abdul Kalam Jayanti. These two people are role models for the entire society.”

To the query of scribes on Siddaramaiah’s statement on the chief minister stating that Yediyurappa is the worst chief minister, C T Ravi said, “BJP government treats each and every one equally, whereas the Congress government did ‘Hatya Rajakarana’ during their tenure. So, in that context, according to Siddaramaiah, chief minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa might be worst chief minister.”

Prior to the press conference, a Pragathi Parisheelana meeting was conducted in the district commissioner’s office by the C T Ravi in the presence of MLA Raghupati Bhat, Lalaji R Mendon, Srinivas Shetty, MLAs of Udupi, Kaup and Kundapur constituencies respectively along with G Jagadeesha, district commissioner of Udupi and officials from all the departments and media.

Discussions were held among the officials on the projects which are being undertaken and the complete report on the project was produced in front of the minister. Construction of toilets in Koti-Chennaya theme park, construction of toilets near Padubidri beach, construction of cycle track from Padukere to Padubidri beach, marine-drive near Trasi Maravante seashore, CRZ issues were discussed in the meeting.

Demand for taxi services was specified by the MLAs and the minister said that the demand will be fulfilled so that the tourists will not face any issues. Request for construction of Rangapmantapa was raised in the meeting and the minister promised to give four to five acres of land for the construction of the same, so that more artistes get a good platform to showcase their talents and make the culture reach many more people.

C T Ravi also stated that this is his first stage being a tourism minister and hence he is doing a research and in the coming days he will be planning and looking forward that the execution goes well at the end. When asked about the funds sanctioned by the central government for the people who suffered from floods, C T Ravi said, “The central government does not discriminate among states. Partial funds are sanctioned to all the states.” He also gave the example of state like Kerala, where no seats have won by BJP and still funds are released equally.

Raghupathi Bhat, MLA of Udupi constituency, Lalaji R Mendon, MLA of Kaup constituency and Mattaru Rathnakar Hegde, BJP Udupi district president were present with the minister.