TIRUCHY: With the State and Central government having spent crores to light up various monuments in Mahabalipuram to host the second informal Modi-Xi summit, people from various quarters are suggesting that the state government should continue maintaining these arrangements.
Lighting arrangements on this historic site and its monuments such as Arjun Penance, Panch Rathas, Krishna's Butter Ball has caught the world attention. "The State should maintain these arrangements in the historic sites for a few more days not only for tourists but also residents," said former state minister N Nallusamy.
With the key summit between the two world leaders bringing these monuments on media spotlight, the tourism sector also feels that the arrangements should continue for a longer time. "Mahabalipuram is a major tourist destination. The government should take efforts to maintain these lighting arrangements for the tourists. In fact, they should not remove these lighting arrangements," said SA Mubashir, Joint Secretary, Trichy Tourism Federation.
With the world anxiously waits for the outcome of the meeting between the two Asian giants, the summit has already brought cheers to the tourism industry of the state.
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Several travel agents from the city also feel that there would be an increase in tourist footfall in the heritage site. "The wide coverage of the meeting of the two world leaders will definitely increase the tourist flow to this location. Therefore, the government should maintain these arrangements," said S Venkitachalam, a tour operator based in Tiruchy.