BENGALURU: After having made several requests to the central government to speed up work on improvement and restoration of the world heritage and UNESCO-protected site Hampi, Karnataka Tourism Minister Anand Singh on Thursday submitted another memorandum to the Union Tourism Ministry to take it up as a pilot project under the iconic tourism scheme. Hampi is one of the 19 sites declared as iconic destinations by the ministry.
Speaking at the conference of tourism and culture ministers of the southern region, Singh, who quoted from the memorandum, said that over the last 20 years, development is still in the nascent stage and most of the work has remained at the planning stage. “The buck has stopped at our table. I have visited all the places listed in the master plan prepared by the ministry and given many recommendations to the consultant teams. Hampi must be taken up as a pilot project under the scheme as this will set a benchmark,” he said.
Addressing the gathering, he said, “Unlike other heritage sites, ours is a live site where pujas are performed daily. But after the sites were brought under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), many restrictions have been imposed and film shoots are not permitted. The last movie shot near the location was the Akshay Kumar-starrer ‘Vikram Rathode’. But mid-way, the crew was asked to pack up. On July 7, 2011, the bazaar outside Virupaksha temple was cleared. It been 20 years but not even 20 pillars have been put up to create alternative livelihood for locals and improve the area. The Union ministry should promote the idea of adopting such sites as many corporates are keen to,” he said.
Rupinder Brar, Additional Director General, Union Ministry of Tourism said adoption of sites under the Monument Mitra scheme has already been started by the ministry which is tax-free for companies. But Singh pointed out that there is not enough promotion of the state’s sites and insised that it should be done.