Tourist Facilitation Centre inaugurated in Kerala under PRASAD SCHEME.
The Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the “Tourist Facilitation Centre” at Guruvayur, Kerala on November 4, 2020. The facilitation centre was constructed under the PRASAD Scheme by the Ministry of Tourism.
Highlights
- The Tourist Facilitation centre was constructed at a cost of Rs 11.57 crores.
- It has been constructed under the “Development of Guruvayur” project of PRASHAD scheme.
- For the project, around 45.36 crores were allocated.
- The facilitation centre also comprises the components such as CCTV Network infrastructure, multi-level car parking and tourist amenities centre.
PRASAD Scheme
The Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme was launched in 2015. The scheme has been aimed at developing the infrastructure like entry points, last mile connectivity, eco-friendly modes of transport, ATM and Money exchanges, interpretation centres including other basic tourism facilities. The scheme focuses on infrastructural developments at the pilgrimage sites. Apart from that, the Ministry of Tourism also undertook several infrastructure related developmental activities at Buddhist sites across the country. The developments are being undertaken under the PRASAD scheme and Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Under the PRASAD scheme , the ministry identified 30 infrastructural development projects such as development of Ajanta, Ellora and Bodhgaya. The PRASAD scheme also identifies understated cities for the infrastructure development:
- Kamakhya (Assam)
- Gaya (Bihar)
- Puri (Odisha)
- Dwarka (Gujarat)
- Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh)
- Ajmer (Rajasthan)
- Kedarnath (Uttarakhand)
- Mathura (Uttar Pradesh)
- Amritsar (Punjab)
- Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
- Velankanni (Tamil Nadu)
- Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu).
Swadesh Darshan Scheme
It is a scheme by the Ministry of Tourism under Government of India. It aims to promote, develop and boost the potential of tourism in India. It is a central sector scheme and 100% funded by Central Government of India. The scheme focuses on theme-based tourism. Each theme is called a “circuit”. IT includes following circuits:
- Buddhist circuit
- Coastal circuit
- Desert circuit
- Himalayan circuit
- Krishna circuit
- North-East circuit
- Ramayana circuit
- Eco circuit
- Heritage circuit
- Rural circuit
- Spiritual circuit
- Sufi circuit
- Tirthankar circuit
- Tribal circuit
- Wildlife circuit.