Centre to boost Khajuraho tourism

Bhopal: The Centre may soon intervene to improve the foreign tourist footfall in Khajuraho, a world heritage site. Even a new tourist circuit may be developed for the tourist destination, besides introduction of new flights for Khajuraho.

All this will start happening in the next six months, Union minister for tourism Prahalad Patel, told TOI.

An MP from the neighbouring Damoh constituency of Bundelkhand, Patel admitted that “in the past, Khajuraho was neglected”.

Talking to TOI, he said the popular perception for promoting tourism in Khajuraho is that the foreign tourists visiting Benaras would also come to Khajuraho. “Why can’t a new circuit be developed connecting places like Bhedaghat in Jabalpur with Khajuraho,” he said. The minister said that a new flight from Bhopal may also be started because foreigners visiting Sanchi from Bhopal may also want to visit Khajuraho.

Poor connectivity of the world famous tourist destination by air, train and road has been the main cause of fall in the number of foreign tourists who come from across the world to witness the temples built by Chandella ruler between AD 900 and 1130.

When Jet Airways was operating, it would have a monopoly while operating on the Benaras-Agra-Khajuraho route along with the Air India.

“A Jet ticket would be so costly at times during the peak tourism period that the international tourists operators started dropping Khajuraho from the tourism itinerary,” said Ashok Goutam, a Khajuraho-based hotelier.

While holding a strike, the stakeholders of tourism industry in Khajuraho also urged the government to start a “Shatabdi-like train from Benaras to Khajuraho.”

Trains connecting Mumbai and Delhi with Khajuraho will solve lots of problems, said Anand Tiwari of the Khajuraho guide association. He also said that the road connecting Jhansi to Khajuraho continues to be in very bad shape. A large number of foreign tourists visit Khajuraho by road from Jhansi after reaching the UP city by Shatabdi Express from Agra and New Delhi, he added.