Prime Minister Narendra Modi is undoubtedly the most-followed person in India. And now the Uttarakhand government wants to use that to its advantage.
To attract more travellers, it is planning tourist circuits and the one which is creating all the buzz is a “Modi Circuit”, reports The Indian Express.
What is the Modi Circuit?
The circuit named after the prime minister is a trail that will cover all the places he visited during a special episode of the popular reality show “Man vs Wild”, with Bear Grylls.
What better than the lush green jungles of India, in the midst of Mother Nature to throw light on environmental conservation and climate change..Do join at 9 PM tonight! https://t.co/RdndTgUtCF
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 12, 2019
Shot inside the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, the episode which aired in August 2019, saw Modi go on an adventure with Grylls on foot. The two turned a stick into a spear as they traversed through an area in the reserve, which is reportedly dominated by tigers. They crossed the Kosi River amid rain using a makeshift raft. The PM was quite the sport; he even had a drink concocted from neem leaves.
During the episode, Grylls, a former serviceman in the Special Air Service of the British Army, gave Modi survival tips, as the two discussed India’s biodiversity and the need to conserve the environment.
The PM was excited about the visit to Jim Corbett, saying that in the future, the area he visited would emerge as a big tourist attraction. He was spot on.
What’s the Uttarakhand government’s plan?
The state tourism department is identifying the route the duo took to plan a circuit. They are also looking for places along the way where arrangements can be made for tourists to stay, reports The Indian Express.
The trial will not be time-consuming and the Uttarakhand government hopes it can be a weekend getaway for tourists from neighbouring states of Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
State tourism minister Satpal Maharaj told the newspaper that the idea for the “Modi Circuit” came to him during a visit to Croatia. He learnt about the “Game of Thrones” tour, which takes visitors through several locations where the superhit HBO show was filmed.
Once the plan for the Modi Circuit is finalised, the area will be developed with the help of the district magistrate, district tourism department and locals,
Will the plan work?
Those working on the circuit are confident it will be a big hit.
Colonel Ashwini Pundir, the additional CEO of the Adventure Sports Division of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, told The Indian Express, that Modi is the “biggest influencer in the country” and development authorities want tourists to have a similar experience.
“We want the tourists to have the experience the PM had. We will also put up write-ups at important points to inform you that this is the place where PM Modi did a particular activity,” he said.
He spoke about the time the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader visited a cave near the Kedarnath shrine in May 2019 and how similar caves are now booked years in advance because of high demand.
According to the official, while Uttarkhand is beautiful, adding a point of attraction with some activities will further tourism.
The state already has created tourism circuits named after deities like Maa Bhagwati, Shiva, Vishnu, Nav-grah, Golju Maharaj, Nagdevta, and Hanuman. In 2017, it started the Vivekananda Circuit that takes people around the Kumaon region, where the monk and philosophers, spent time. The journey starts at Kakrighant, where Vivekananda arrived more than a century ago, and takes you through Almora, Dewaldhar village, Nainital, Bhimtal and Shyamlatal, according to the Uttarakhand Tourism website.
How popular was the PM’s episode?
Man Vs Wild with Grylls and Modi had recorded the highest-ever ratings in the infotainment genre, according to data by BARC India. The premiere of the show emerged as the highest-ever rated show in the history of the genre in India garnering 6.9 million impressions, according to a report in India Today.
The Congress state president Karan Mahara once again brought up the controversy linked to the episode, saying it was shot the day of the Pulwama attack in Kashmir that left 40 CRPF personnel dead on 14 February 2019.
However, the BJP spokesperson told The Indian Express that Modi was the “biggest brand in the state” and his name can benefit tourism in the state.
With inputs from agencies
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