Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that the state has tremendous scope in terms of tourism.
Speaking at an event at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here, Adityanath said that the previous governments did not have the courage to develop the tourism sector, according to an official statement.
"We have spots like Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Vindhya Dham, Kushinagar, Sarnath and Kapilvastu along with diversified environment, dense forests, and rivers like Ganga-Yamuna and Saryu that further expand the possibilities in tourism," he said.
"Small initiatives could lead to big results in this field, but the previous governments did not pay any heed towards development of tourism," he added.
The chief minister said his predecessors did not bring about any change and lacked progressive thinking.
"We brought about all the changes and started the traditions of organising Ardhkumbh as Kumbh, and changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj and also started Deepotsav in Ayodhya and Krishna Janmotsav in Mathura," he said.
"We established the 'Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad' for overall development of Braj region. The result of our initiative is that Ayodhya has become the favourite destination, not only for tourists, but also for the investors, as is evident from several investment proposals that we received during the Investors Summit and the Ground Breaking Ceremony," he added.
While keeping intact the originality of the pilgrimage centres, the state government is making efforts to provide basic amenities and security for tourists, Adityanath said.
"If it is implemented in an effective manner, the tourists or pilgrims will come to stay at various destinations and also help in creating employment opportunities at the local level," he said.
"The government is working towards this strategy with full dedication. The divine and grand Kumbh of Prayagraj is proof of this initiative," he added.
"Around 24 crore pilgrims attended the event and appreciated the arrangements. The government aims to provide Kumbh like facilities at all major events held at every pilgrimage centre," he said further.
