NEW DELHI: The details of tourist sites in the vicinity of national highways and convenient routes to reach them will soon be available on the ‘Rajmargyatra’ mobile application launched by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The app was created for improved user experience on highways, offering essential information and complaint redressal.
According to officials, the NHAI is updating its app following a suggestion from the Ministry of Tourism to increase tourist footfalls at sites located within 25 kilometre radius of the highways.
The topic was discussed during a roundtable conference held by the tourism ministry to explore and leverage the potential of India’s tourism ecosystem last month.
Officials said that towns with tourist potential and places of tourist interest in the vicinity of entry or exit points of the highways will be embedded in the app.
The ministry, however, suggested mapping places that are in the radius of 200 km of highways.
“We are awaiting details from the ministry, along with the coordinates of tourism sites, especially those of small or lesser known places. Update will be done as the details are available. The idea is whenever a user of the app reaches a point while travelling on the highway, all those sites will be reflected on the app. And if a traveller wishes to visit any site, he will be guided via the app,” said an NHAI official.
The app was introduced as a one-stop repository to improve user travelling experience in August by providing essential information such as real-time weather conditions, timely broadcast notifications, and access to details about nearby toll plazas, petrol pumps, hospitals, hotels, and other facilities for national highway users.
The app is also equipped with an inbuilt complaint redressal and escalation mechanism. Users can easily report the issues, attaching geo-tagged videos or photos for better clarity.
Connectivity
Officials from the National Highways Authority of India said that the Authority is focusing on improvement of roads leading to small towns or sites such as Bhimbetka and Udayagiri caves. The Ministry of Tourism or the Archaeological Survey of India could also recommend places where the improvement of infrastructure is required, the officials said.