Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday pitched Punjab as a potential global tourist destination and invited the investors in tourism and hospitality sectors with the promise of a conducive, hassle-free business environment.
Rolling out the red carpet for investors at the first Punjab Tourism Summit and Travel Mart, Mann urged them to make optimum use of the best law and order and congenial atmosphere backed by excellent infrastructure, power, skilled human resources and work culture. “The state government is always open to new ideas and innovations. We are open to incorporating your suggestions and ideas into our policies. The day is not far when Punjab will emerge as the tourism hub of the country,” he told a gathering of people from the tourism and hospitality industry in the inaugural session of the three-day event at Amity University in Mohali. Mann was accompanied by tourism minister Anmol Gagan Maan, comedian Kapil Sharma, chief secretary Anurag Verma, and principal secretary, tourism, Rakhee Gupta Bhandari.
Amritsar a wedding destination
{{/usCountry}}Amritsar a wedding destination
{{/usCountry}}The chief minister said the state government would set up a one-stop ‘celebration point’ over an area of 100 acres, complete with banquet halls, marriage palaces and hotels, in Amritsar. “We will have hotels and banquet halls for everyone with tariffs ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹10 lakh. Those who want their children to get married and then go to the Golden Temple to seek blessings the same day could organise the event there. This first-of-its-kind celebration point will boost tourism,” he said.
Mann said his government is also focusing on eco-tourism as the state is blessed with a bounty of natural resources with sites like Chamrod Pattan which will be promoted in a big way. He also announced that his government will also establish a film city for shooting, post-production and release of movies, asking for Kapil Sharma’s help in promoting it.
“Geographically, Punjab is a blessed land. If you travel to Kangra, Kullu or Shimla, you have to go through Punjab. If you have to go to religious places like Naina Devi, you have to go through Punjab. Amritsar has a footfall of one lakh devotees daily. Our focus now is to highlight other areas that have tremendous tourism potential,” he said. He said every village has an imprint of the martyrs who had laid down their lives for the sake of the country both in pre and post-independence times, which needs to be showcased duly.
Saragarhi Memorial to be completed soon
Mann said his government will complete the Saragarhi memorial to remember the supreme sacrifice made by the 21 valiant soldiers, who laid their lives while protecting the sovereignty of the country, at the battle of Saragarhi. Mann is slated to lay the foundation stone of the Saragarhi War Memorial during a state-level function on Tuesday.
Mann said that though the exemplary valour of these soldiers of the 36 Sikhs stationed near Samana ridge (now in Pakistan), who laid down their lives after a fierce battle following an attack by nearly 10,000 Afghans on September 12, 1897, hardly finds any parallel in the world history but the previous state government ignored this fact and didn’t release the funds for this memorial. “We have released the pending funds now so that the memorial is completed at the earliest” he added.
The CM also talked about Punjab being the first state in the country to have introduced colour-coded stamp papers so that investors do not face any hassle. “We have brought green stamp papers for investors who have paid all their fees required for setting up a unit in the state. We have sold 50 green stamp papers so far,” he said, highlighting the industry-friendly policies of his government.
Anmol Gagan Maan said that for the first time, the state is opening its doors in the various sectors of tourism. “Policies have been drafted and introduced meticulously for promoting tourism,” she added. Cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora, Chetan Singh Jauramajra and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer were among those present.