Excelsior... Nation

The fall and the fall-out of tourism in India

NEW DELHI, Oct 20: At a time when the world has already shown signs of recovery from the after-shocks of the horrendous events of September 11 last year, tourism is still to take off in India despite the emphasis on the domestic tourist and the attempts to project it as a poverty alleviation and employment generation programme.

The overall tourist traffic from overseas for the first seven months of this year saw a decline of 15.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, with an estimated 1,299,185 arrivals as compared to 1,532,605 in 2001 and 1,447,944 in y2k. Though more than 1,85,000 tourists arrived in the country in july, the decline showed a steep shortfall of 16.9 per cent as compared to july last year which saw the arrival of 2,24,432 visitors.

Even the foreign exchange earning from tourism fell by 15.7 per cent as compared to 2001 when it had gone up by 0.7 per cent in 2000. The earnings of the first seven months amounted to a provisional 1579.42 million dollars (Rs 7613 crore) in comparison to 1874.65 million dollars (Rs 8771.7 crore) in 2001 and 1862.18 million dollars (Rs 8203.9 crore) in the year 2000.

However, the Government has for the first time attempted to give some importance to tourism. The allocation for the sector in the 10th plan has been increased five fold from Rs 595 crore to Rs 2,900 crore. Annual allocation for 2002-03 has also been enhanced from Rs 150 crore to Rs 225 crore.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Yaswant Singh said the Government will soon rationalise the tax structure in the domestic tourism sector. He said a two-member committee, under his economic advisor Vijay Kelkar, had been formed to look into the existing tax structures in the tourism sector as well as suggest policies for its growth. Mr Singh said a study some years ago had shown that five citizens benefited every time a single foreign tourist arrived in the country, and the number of jobs created was the highest than any other industry. The tourism and hospitality industry has, meanwhile, demanded greater rationalisation in the tax structure as well as the an "infrastructure activity status" so that developmental activities could be speeded up by attracting a lot of capital. In a meet earlier this week, industry leaders said the existing infrastructure set-up as well as the tax structure in the country was not conducive for growth of the tourism, travel and hospitality industry.

But while Tourism Minister Jagmohan says the country is poised to more than double its tourist traffic in the next few years with the development of new infrastructure and blames the ‘misconceived’ travel advisories for the present shortfall, senior officers of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) feel India has failed to take advantage of international trends in tourism and point to the example of china which has increased its traffic manifold in less than a decade.

Dr Harsh Verma, who is the south asia representative of the WTO, said recently that the tourism growth in India had been the lowest between 1995 and 2000 when compared to other tourist destinations. He said it was clear that the Government had never tapped tourism as a potential for generating foreign exchange and increasing cooperation with neighbouring countries. Dr David J De Villiers, Deputy Secretary General of the WTO, said India should realise that tourism is the highest foreign exchange earner - ahead of food, computers and fuel. In 38 per cent of the tourist destination countries, tourism is the main source of revenue, he added.

India should also keep abreast of changes taking place in the pattern of international tourism, officials said. People prefer more frequent but shorter holidays, they will not go for long hauls (thus an American tourist will prefer to go nearby and not come all the way to India), and they want greater variety and hence the need for re-distribution of destinations, they said. India would do well to look inwards and tap the Asian countries instead of always looking west, they added. (UNI)

Fresh faces rule the roost in ‘Dil Pardesi...

CHANDIGARH, Oct 20: Kapil Jhaveri auditioned for Saawan Kumar Tak’s film "Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya" as a lark but got selected to play the lead role.

"I always loved watching Hindi movies but had never thought that I would get into them. I was simply spending my time in my college playing basketball and doing modelling and was content with it," the new-comer said.

"It was by sheer chance that a friend of mine asked me to audition for ‘Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya’. I auditioned for the film and as luck would have it, I got selected", he said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He is also confident that if he did not succeed, then he had his family business to fall back on.

Jhaveri, who has done his schooling in Bahrain, has won the Mr Photogenic title in Gladrags in 1998 and has also some modelling assignments to his credit.

He had a crash course in acting from Satya Dev Dubey. In this film, he plays the role of a just-out-of college boy who falls in love with a muslim girl played by new-find Saloni Aswani.

"I was made to feel at ease during the shooting of the film and I must say everybody was very cooperative and helpful. I do not know what the future holds for me but I have given my best shot to this film. I am keeping my fingers crossed," he told reporters here on Thursday.

The entire crew of the film was in the city for the promotion of the film which is 70 per cent complete. The crew was back from 35-days of shooting in Manali. The rest of the movie will be shot in Mumbai. The film is expected to be released in April next year. The cast includes Amrish Puri, Ashutosh Rana and Mukesh Rishi.

The cinematography by Harmeet Singh and music by Usha Khanna, who has given the tunes in almost all Saawan Kumar Tak’s movies. The eight-crore budget film also has an eleven-minute song dedicated to the soldiers. Saloni, the 23-year-old Mumbai girl in the female lead role, said, "I met Saawanji through a common friend and underwent the audition test. Luckily, it came out as a winner."

Saloni, whose off-screen and real name is Vandana, said, "Saawanji suggested me to change my name for the film and he suggested ‘Saloni’ which, he said, was more filmi. Well, the shooting in Manali was fun and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I am a punctual and disciplined actress and would love to work with Subash Ghai and Yash Chopra in the future."

She is a psychology graduate and has done an acting course from Ashok Kumar Academy. She has also done some prestigious modelling assignments.

Meanwhile, Saawan Kumar Tak, the producer, director and writer of the film, said, "the film has some heart-rending scenes. It revolves around a Pakistani girl and an Indian boy who are in love with each other. The movie shows that love can conquer blazing guns and has no boundaries. The leading pair of the film, Kapil and Saloni, has given nice performances and the movie is likely to be complete by the end of this year and will hit the silver screen around April next year."

"I had come to chandigarh also looking for the leading pair for my this film but could not find anyone and finally had to select from Mumbai itself. But I might organise the premiere of the film in this city," he added.

Saawan Kumar has produced several films like Souten, Sajan Ki Saheli, Bewafa Se Wafa, Pyar Ki Jeet, Chand Ka Tukda and Soutne Ki Jeet. (UNI)

Centre has become usurer, says Bhattacharjee

KOLKATA, Oct 20: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has lashed out at the BJP-led NDA Government for the fiscal crisis faced by the states and said the Centre had been behaving like an "usurer".

"The Centre has become an usurer. It is borrowing money at an interest of 7 per cent or less and passing it to the states at an interest rate of 12 per cent, forcing the states into a vicious debt trap," Mr Bhattacharjee told UNI here last night.

The Chief Minister ridiculed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA’s) faulty economic policies and said under such a policy one was being punished despite best work.

"In no economy you get punished for good work. But we are being punished by a callous centre for the country’s best performance in small savings. The centre has not only reduced the interest rate but also adopted a faulty policy to further reduce the benefit for the state," Mr Bhattacharjee said.

He said whenever the Centre had been facing crisis it had been borrowing money from the reserve bank of India at its sweet will. But in case of the states, the centre had imposed a strict restriction.

"Even the states have been suffering because of poor and faulty collection of revenues by the Centre. The states’ share of Central taxes is also being reduced because of poor collection," he said. Describing the fiscal condition of the state as "very critical", Mr Bhattacharjee called for strict austerity measures and hike in different fees, which remained unchanged for years.

"We plan to mobilise about Rs 1200 crore in the next six months through these measures to somehow tide over the situation. We have to stop all unnecessary expenditures, including purchase of flowers for Government functions and food packets, and hike stamp duties, court fees, license fees and fees for renewal of licenses for arms," he observed.

He pointed out that the Centre had virtually withdrawn the credit line to the tune of Rs. 778 crore for West Bengal following pressures from other State Governments even after making official announcement in Delhi last month.

Mr Bhattacharjee also stressed the need for a serious review of its earlier decision of giving bonus or ex-gratia payment to its employees.

He said the State Government’s salary burden had reached a staggering figure of Rs. 900 crore per month after the implementation of the recommendation of the Fifth Pay Commission by the Centre.

"We had to implement the same for our employees like all other State Governments but could never foresee that the state would face such a severe fiscal crisis because of faulty policies of the Centre," he added. (UNI)

Second phase of Kandi project being implemented

SHIMLA, Oct 20: With an outlay of Rs 171.25 crore, the second phase of an Integrated Watershed Development Project for Himalayan Hills, known as Kandi Project, is being implemented in Himachal Pradesh at present.

Under this phase, multifarious development activities are undertaken in five watershed areas in the state. The project is primarily aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of farmers living in these areas and to slow down and reverse the process of degradation of eco-system, according to an official spokesman here.

To achieve the targets speedily under the project, a multifarious and multi-disciplinary approach has been adopted by integrating departments of forest, agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry.

Out of the total Rs 171.25 crore, Rs 106 crore are being contributed by the World Bank, Rs 47.88 crore by the Himachal Pradesh Government and Rs 15.39 crore shared by target beneficiaries.

The thrust areas under project are — afforestation, soil conservation treatment, horticulture and agriculture activities, stream bank protection and other civil works, including construction of paths, footbridges, and providing civil and veterinary facilities to rural masses.

The Government has spent Rs 2.58 crore on the construction of 42 water harvesting structures, known an earthen dams, and Rs 62 lakh on construction of 115 village ponds providing irrigation facilities to 350 hectares of land of 450 farmer families across the Nalagarh Sub-Division in Solan district.

One of the prime objectives of the project is to increase the farm yield by encouraging dry land farming in the arid areas and converting them into fertile land.

The first phase of the project was successfully completed in 1999 when implementation of the second phase began. (UNI)

Southern states hit by Kerala’s edu policy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Oct 20: The country’s first total literacy state of Kerala is gearing up for a belated revolution in the professional state of education sector, bringing with it a lot of discomfort to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where crores of Rupees flowed for higher education for years.

There has been hectic activity across Kerala where the Antony Government has taken a bold decision to open up the professional education sector to private individuals and institutions.

The Government’s liberalised education policy has evoked tremendous response, if the "Kattakkada boom" is taken as an indication.

The sleepy and backward Kattakada-nedumangad belt, which once supplied house maids and other workers to the capital city and elsewhere, has now turned out to be a haven for higher education. Six of the first batch of about 80 professional colleges, including 29 engineering institutions, are located here and sanctioned to the private sector.

All the new private institutions in the belt were ready with full infrastructure and some of them had even started classes a fortnight ago. An initial first year investment of Rs four crore to Rs 12 crore had already been made by each of the institutions.

All the new colleges in the belt are located in perfect natural setting, punctuated by natural pools, rock blocks and evergreen trees and rubber plants. All the buildings are multi-storied, marble-laid and aesthetically and scientifically designed to suit the peculiar landscapes highlighted by undulating terrain and unfriendly cliffs.

Education Minister Nalakath Soopy told UNI that about Rs 500 crore had been flowing into other states as an estimated 10,000 students from Kerala had been seeking admission to different professional courses in private institutions located in Southern and Northern states. Mr Soopy, who played a key role in evolving the new education policy, said more professional colleges would be sanctioned during the next academic year depending upon the feasibility. "The courses offered by the private colleges in Kerala are those with high demands in India and abroad."

"We want our infrastucture to be of international standard. Our aim is quality education and first class facilities," says Dr Hareendran Nair, a leading ayurvedic medicine manufacturer and secretary of Pankaja Kasthuri Ayurveda Medical College, which is one of the six private professional institutions coming up in Kattakada-Nedumangad belt.

It is perhaps the difficulty to get 10 to 25 acres of land in towns and cities that prompted the promoters of the new generation colleges to favour remote areas like Kattakada, where land was relatively cheap. The impact of the new institutions could be gauged from the speed with which these areas were developing, bringing about changes in the lifestyle of the local people.

The price of land in the Kattakkada-Nedumangad area where a cent of rubber plantation cost not more than Rs 2,000 till a year ago, had gone up by several fold and the price quoted now was in the range of Rs 25,000 to Rs one lakh.

Dr Ashalatha Thampuran, Principal of the Mohandas College of Engineering at Aanadu, 15 km from Kattakkada, told a visiting UNI correspondent that the college with all facilities and good faculty was aiming at competing with the best colleges in India.

The professional college boom in Kerala has directly hit below the belt not only neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka but also Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra where Keralite students reportedly formed at least 60 per cent of the student strength.

"The impact of the Kerala Government’s new education policy on other states’ private education sector will be strongly felt in the next three years," says Mr Babu Jose, Secretary of the Lourde Matha College of Science and Technology at Kuttichal, three km from Kattakada.(PTI)

Mayawati urges PM to provide special eco package for UP

LUCKNOW, Oct 20: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Ms Mayawati has requested Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to sanction a special economic package for the speedy development of the state.

She also requested him to grant an assistance of about Rs 20,000 crore for various Central schemes for electrification and linking of villages of the state by roads.

Presenting a memorandum to the Prime Minister for the rapid development of up here last night, Ms Mayawati requested for a ‘special allocation’ for the state from the Rs 2,500 crore fund earmarked in the union budget for the development of ‘backward states’.

Ms Mayawati also sought assistance under the ‘accelerated irrigation programme’ and the ‘energy development programme’ for comprehensive improvement in the infrastructure of the state.

She told the Prime Minister that in view the state’s previous financial condition, the schemes should have a loan content of 50 per cent and the remaining 50 per cent should be in the form of grant.

Pointing towards the heavy decline in ‘forest asset’ and ‘hydel capacity’ of the state due to the formation of Uttaranchal, Ms Mayawati drew the attention of the PM towards the ‘special assistance’ being provided to Uttaranchal despite the fact that it was more developed than UP, and requested for a ‘special economic package’ for it to compensate for the loss due to carving out of the hill-state. The Chief Minister also sought Rs 3,753 crore from the ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna’ (PMGSY) for linking 9,314 villages (with a population of 1,000 or more) and a ‘Central assistance’ of Rs 2,272 crore per year, for the next five years, to link another 18,084 villages (having a population between 500-999) by roads.

She also requested for an allocation of Rs 4,721.58 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojna’ for providing electricity to 40,879 villages in the state by 2007.

Seeking a change in the existing structure of providing Central assistance to states, wherein 70 per cent of it comes as loan and 30 per cent as grant, Ms Mayawati said for ‘backward states’ like up the ratio percentage should be narrowed to 50-50.

Along with this, the term of loan repayment should be extended and the rate of interest reduced, she added.

Besides, the memorandum called for rescheduling of the investment structure of scheduled commercial banks and Central financial institutions so that development needs of the states like UP could be fulfilled and productive investment encouraged.

Demanding implementation of 100 per cent Centrally sponsored schemes from the PM in view of the flood situation in the state, the CM also urged the Union Village Development Ministry to provide adequate fund for reclamation of barren and low-yielding land, so that productivity of land could be enhanced.

Other issues discussed during her 30-minute meeting with the PM at the Raj Bhawan included the Raj International Airport, the Bharat Petroleum Refinery at Allahabad, the fertilizer factory at Gorakhpur, the Anpara power station and the ‘Buddhist circuit’ mapping. (UNI)

Restoration of muck disposal plan underway

CHAMBA, Oct 20: The restoration and muck disposal plan, put into operation by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) on the Chanera Hydroelectric Project (Stage-II) and being executed on the Ravi river in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, is progressing well and has started bearing fruits.

The plan had been undertaken with an outlay of Rs 11 crore as part of its Environment Management Plan (EMP) which envisages utilisation of usable debris in filling areas and disposal of unserviceable material. Eight locations have been identified for this purpose so that debris does not mix up with the river water and cause by ecological imbalance.

The total debris (muck) is estimated at 17.5 lakh cubic metres (cum) from the entire underground excavation, including 21 km length of total tunneling on the project that is over for the past several months, and no further disposal is anticipated.

The project has got the excavated muck tested for its petrography and mineralogical property and found the same suitable for use of concreting and allied works in the entire project components and as such only a reduced quantity to the tune of around 4.5 lakh cum shall require permanent disposal at the earmarked sites, thereby substantially mitigating the apprehensions of ecological imbalances.

Mr S K Doedja, executive director, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), says the disposal sites have been earmarked and approved by the state forest department as well as the Himachal Pradesh Environment and Pollution Control Board. Besides this, the local farmers of the area are also utilising the muck for construction of their houses, roads as well as by various crusher plant owners as a fringe advantage, he added. Despite the fact that the exploitation of stone quarry for aggregate production has been approved by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for the project, the department has chosen not to quarry the same, but utilised the exavated muck itself for construction purposes, thereby further reducing any adverse ecological impact.

According to the plan, the muck has been disposed of in earmarked areas along the river courses and adequate measures like breast walling, providing crate walls in line with sound engineering practice have been implemented. And now the muck sites have been completely stabilised by scientific methods in continuous process.

Moreover, the NHPC has constituted ‘a volunteer environment coordination committee’ of eminent personalities of Chamba district to monitor the environment protection works. This committee, apart from other Government standing committees, also undertakes their inspections and suggests augmentation and remedial measures.

Around 9890-hectare area has been identified for treatment under cat plan based on the delineation of the critically degraded area through satellite remote sensing data and the ground factual position. Till date, the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department has been bankrolled an amount of Rs 3.6 crore and the works like soil conservation, forestry and pasture development have been taken up.

Besides this, compensatory afforestation scheme for plantation over an area of 172.58 hectare of degraded forestland has been executed by the State Forest Department of NHPC at the cost of Rs 45 lakh.

The 300 mw Chamera Hydroelectric Project (Stage-II) is being constructed on the river Ravi in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh with an estimated cost of about Rs 1,700 crore by the NHPC on a turn-key basis with Indo-Canadian consortium, led by the Jai Prakash Industries, a contractor working on the project.

The project is expected to be commissioned by the middle of the next year. (UNI)