On May 1, Bharatiya Janata Party released its manifesto for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. In its manifesto, BJP made nine promises on conservation and promoting culture and heritage.
The first promise by the ruling party calls for transforming Karnataka into India’s premier tourist destination by developing thematic tourist destinations on the lines of Wildlife Tourism, Beach Tourism, Heritage Tourism, and Eco-Tourism. Furthermore, it talked about launching a special helpline under the name ‘Visit Karnataka’ that will provide help and information regarding tours to destinations in the state.
The second promise is to allocate Rs 1,500 crore to develop five projects named Kalyana Circuit, Banavasi Circuit, Parashurama Circuit, Kaveri Circuit and Ganagapura Corridor to transform the state into India’s favoured tourist destination.
The third promise discussed a dedicated Kannada help desk for the pilgrims to destinations including Ayodhya, Varanasi, Kedarnath, Rameshwaram, Tirupati, Velankanni and Ajmer Sharif. It will help tourists from Karnataka to get information in their native language during a visit to other states for pilgrimage.
In its fourth promise, BJP promised a one-time grant of Rs 25,000 to poor families to undertake a pilgrimage to Daiva Yatre to places including Tirupati, Ayodhya, Kashi, Rameswaram, Kolhapur, Sabarimala and Kedarnath.
In the fifth promise, BJP assured allocation of Rs 1,000 crores for the restoration and upkeep of ancient temples across the state under ‘Devasthana Jeernodhara Anudana’.
In the sixth promise, the ruling party assured to undertake the overall development of areas surrounding the temples in several locations, including Banavasi, Sirsi, Banashankari, Ganagapura, Kollur, Nayakanahatti, Mysuru, Male Mahadeshwara Betta, and Kaivara.
In its seventh promise, BJP assured to constitute a committee to grant the complete autonomy of temple administration to the devotees. The committee will also overlook and regulate the local businesses around the temples to create a sustainable temple economy.
In the eighth promise, BJP promised to initiate the “Shivarama Karanth Karnataka Manuscript Mission”, under which a grant of Rs 250 crores will be provided to collect, preserve and digitise treasured manuscripts and oral translations of Karnataka.
In the ninth promise, BJP assured to launch a dedicated Tourist Guide Training And Licensing Mission that will help to revamp the existing tour guide certification system. It will provide a platform to transform guiding into a lucrative tourism-linked profession, further transforming Karnataka into a premier destination for global tourists.
The Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled for voting on May 10. The results will be announced on May 13.
