Telangana comes up with new plan to form tourism circuit
In a new initiative to attract international tourists to Telangana, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) and Telangana Forest Department are working closely to identify potential vacation spots to form a tourism circuit.
The districts where tourism spots are being explored include Sangareddy, Siddipet, Medak, Kamareddy and Adilabad. The USAID, which selected Medak district under its Forest Plus 2.0 to improve greenery in the forest area, has identified immense tourism potential in Telangana.
USAID, MoEF and Telangana Forest Department have together roped in a tourism consultant, Deepu Karthikeyan, who had earlier worked with Telangana Tourism Department in Medak and Khammam districts, to identify potential tourist places in these parts of the state, according to a report in Telangana Today.
A delegation of officials from these three departments and the consultant visited the archeological museum in Sangareddy district and Manjeera wildlife sanctuary. The Pocharam wildlife sanctuary, the urban park located in Narsapur forest area, Edupayala temple, Medak fort, Medak church, Gajwel urban park are likely to be made part of the tourism circuit, Telangana Today said.
Since the trip on the circuit will last three days, officials are planning to provide night camping facilities in Gajwel urban park, Narsapur park and Manjeera wildlife sanctuary in Sangareddy in the erstwhile Medak district. The district is home to over 300 bird species besides rich fauna and flora.
The officials were also considering inclusion of some reservoirs built under Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) such as Kondapochamma Sagar in the tourist circuit.
Since the plan to draw international tourists would mean that certain facilities need to meet the set standards, the team is also working on identifying the exact requirements and facilities that need to be improved. After preparing a project report, the team will present it to both the Union and State governments for funds. The USAID will mobilise funding from international agencies such as the World Bank if they fail to raise funds here, the report added.
