Disney Land like tourist hub is coming up in Mayapur, West Bengal
Mayapur Iskcon Temple, West Bengal
‘Krishna Land’, same as Disney Land is coming up on Mayapur of Nadia District in West Bengal. It was announced by Alfred Ford, a member of the Ford Family and a devotee of Iskcon (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a religious group of Lord Krishna devotees). The project will be implemented near the Iskcon temple, with the support of the state government. Chief Minister Mamata Banarjee has talked to Iskcon people about the implementation of the project, during her visit to Mayapur in February 2018.
Ford will invest Rs 2000 crores for the project. Meanwhile, Iskcon has submitted a detailed plan of the project to the Chief Minister. As per Alfred Ford, the tourism hub is not completely a spiritual place, as it is near the Iskcon Temple of Mayapur, but they plan to encourage the Bengal handlooms and handicrafts industry in the region.
The proposed tourism hub can accommodate 1.5 lakh visitors at a time. Alfred Ford said, they are inviting experts form theme parks across the world to contribute their ideas for the realization of the project.
Weavers of Shantipur
The project plan specifies dress codes for the devotees visiting the Krishna Land. Only Indian traditional dress will be allowed inside – Dhoti for men and saree for women, all hand-woven and sourced from Shantipur and Fulia. Likewise, the utensils used inside for distribution of ‘prasada’ and other purposes to be earthenware. These to be bought from the potters living around Mayapur. By this way the project envisages encouragement of handloom and pottery of local people, which will in turn enhance the economic development of the region.