“Improved road and air connectivity is necessary for the state to connect with other states and thus attract more tourists,” says Kerala Governer P Sathasivam. He was inaugurating the Nishagandhi Monsoon Music Fest at the Nishagandhi Auditorium at Kanakkunnu, Thiruvananthapuram.
He also recommended the state government to utilise the Centre’s ‘UDAN’ (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme aimed at improving rural airports and connectivity. He also offered his willingness to follow up the actions, if the state makes any requests to the Union Government in this regard.
Citing the example of Puthuchery, he said despite its small size, they have every day flights to Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad at a price of two tier train ticket. He appreciated the music program and urged to stage similar programmes in other northern cities.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the tourism sector undergoes a lean patch during the monsoon and the intention behind the programmes like the Monsoon Music Fest is to make Kerala tourism lively throughout the year.
He said events like the Malabar River Cruise, World Kayak Fest at Thusharagiri and Champion Boat Race League reflect the government’s tourism policy which is intended to revolutionize the sector and will be added to the tourism calendar.
Bombai Jayaree & Hariharan
The music festival which opened on Sunday will see some of the well-known and emerging faces on the Indian music scene thrill audiences with their expertise. The line-up for the first edition of the festival includes veterans like Bombay Jayashree and Hariharan and upcoming artists Steven Samuel and Lydian Nadhaswaram.
