Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 21: State tourism and culture minister Ashok Chandra Panda met Union Minister of State (Culture) Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi Tuesday to press for a set of demands to boost tourism in Orissa and commemorate the contributions of some of the luminaries from the state.
Panda briefed the Union minister about the huge tourism potential of the state and promotion of cultural heritage. This apart, he also discussed the ways to promote connectivity in the state.
A tourism department release said, Panda urged the MoS to set up a Tagore Cultural Complex, Orissa dance museum in memory of Odissi exponent Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and setting up an international museum at Puri.
He also requested the Union minister to release `8 crore for eight projects for which utlisation certificates have been sent to the Ministry of Tourism. Some of these important projects include development of Buddhist circuit, silk route and golden triangle among others.
International carries be allowed to operate from Bhubaneswar airport and Air India should also operate an international flight from there, Pand said. Terming the demands ‘genuine’, Sharma assured support and cooperation to Orissa, a Union Ministry release said.
State tourism commissioner-cum-secretary Arvind Padhee also logged on to a micro-blogging site to tell his followers Tuesday night about the meeting of state tourism minister with his Central counterpart. Sharma had visited the state last month to take stock of the preparations for Nabakalebara for which the Centre has allocated `52 crore. Meanwhile, the Union government has launched a few programmes for development of Puri as a pilgrimage site of global importance.