'Chokhi Dhani' clone to come up on Yamuna e-way

[अर्णब् मुखर्जी]

'Chokhi Dhani' clone to come up on Yamuna e-way
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Greater Noida, April 18, 2013




Tourists on way to Taj Mahal through Yamuna Expressway will soon be able to get a taste of Indian culture along the journey. The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to set up at least two resorts based on rural themes similar to Jaipur's famous Chokhi Dhani.


"We are planning ethnic five-star village resorts along the 165-km-long expressway. The facilities will be based on the concept of Chokhi Dhani which attracts a large number of foreign as well as domestic tourists," said Abhilash Sharma, director, UP tourism.

Similar to Chokhi Dhani, which showcases the rich culture of Rajasthan, these resorts will depict the culture and village life of UP, Sharma said, adding "foreigners living in Delhi and nearby areas often visit Jaipur's Chokhi Dhani on weekends."

According to the state tourism department, the Chokhi Dhani management has also shown interest in developing such villages in UP along national highways near tourist places. On public-private-partnership model, such facilities could be set up either with Chokhi Dhani management or other groups which could promote tourism in UP.

"Last year, around 59.51 lakh tourists visited Taj Mahal out of which 7.17 lakh were foreigners. In 2011, the total number of tourists was 52.96 lakh, including 6.92 lakh foreign nationals," Sharma said.

"Keeping in view the volume of tourists, two ethnic villages can be developed along the expressway. One could be near Noida which will also cater to foreign nationals residing in Delhi. Through DND Flyway, Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and Yamuna Expressway, the site in Noida near Dankaur or Jewar could be covered in less than three hours from Delhi," he said.

Another site may be somewhere between Agra and Mathura so that the facility can cater to the visitors of Taj Mahal and temples of Mathura, he said.





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[Sushil Kumar]

Here is a copy of my mail dated 17.4.2013 to Safalji; For information and comments:

 

17 April 2013

 

Dear Safalji

 

It is exactly two years when I first suggested that, “Let’s meet”. We first met at Coffee Home in CP on 23 April 2011.

 

We have covered a lot of ground in these two years. We met informally; we formed a core group; we drafted our constitution; got it registered; met YEIDA officials; filed a caveat; made ourselves a party to official business of YEIDA; etc. etc.

 

Now is the time to take the next step. Let us organize some, “Formal Program”. I have had the privilege of attending many formal programs (Private, Local, National and International).

 

If agreed, let us meet and decide what level of program we need to conduct.

 

Private or Local program can be organized in any good Hotel near Yamuna Expressway and a week’s notice is enough. It won’t cost more than 1000 rupees per head.

 

A National or International level program will have to be organized in a good hotel; it will cost anywhere between 1000 to 5000 rupees per head per day (we need to do half/one day program in my views), will need to give a notice of three to six months depending upon the scale we want to do. We will have to get all the stake holders (YEIDA officials, builders etc.) on board. We will get enough sponsors for individual events.

 

Kindly give it a thought.

 

Regards

 

Sushil Kumar
Retd. Executive Director
Airports Authority of India