Sringar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday stressed that peace and tranquility hold the key to groom and grow the tourism industry in the state for which over Rs 383 crores have been sanctioned during the last four years by his government.
"People from all the three regions of the state are equal stakeholders in the tourism industry. Balanced approach has to be taken to rope in tourists from within the country and abroad," he said.
Chairing the tourism advisory committee meeting in Srinagar, he said that the tourist market for Kashmir in southeast Asia, Middle East, Gulf countries and Germany need to be harnessed in full besides working for attracting tourists from other foreign countries.
"The government is making all endeavours to help holistic development of tourism by encouraging adventure, sports, pilgrim and conventional tourism in the state and help creation of up to the mark infrastructure with the aim to generate economic activities and expand job market for youth," he said, calling on private players in this industry have complement government efforts "so that the stupendous goals are achieved"....
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05:18 AM, May 14, 2013
Jaipur: Khadims (priests) at the dargah (shrine) of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer have decided not to assist Pakistani pilgrims in offering prayers at the shrine. Several groups of khadims have decided to join the increasing protests against the killing of Sarabjit. About 640 pilgrims from Pakistan will be visiting Rajasthan's Ajmer town later this week. The pilgrims are expected to arrive in Ajmer May 12, 2013 to participate in...
04:32 AM, May 07, 2013
Five pilgrims returning from the Kumbh Mela were killed and eight others injured when a jeep collided with a truck in Jalalpur area, police said on Saturday. The five persons, including three women and two men, were killed when the jeep carrying them collided with the truck on the Lucknow-Varanasi National Highway late Friday night, Superintendent of Police Manjil Saini said. ...
10:16 AM, Feb 16, 2013
Five pilgrims died on Tuesday and seven were injured when a truck collided with a van that was on its way to the cave shrine of Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir. All pilgrims hailed from Patiala, Punjab. ...
12:45 PM, Feb 05, 2013
Eighteen pilgrims, including five children and eight women, were killed when an open loading van in which they were travelling collided with the state transport bus near Jhilwada village of Patan district, police said on Wednesday. Fifteen others were injured in the head-on collision. ...
11:40 PM, Jan 30, 2013
More than 1,000 people from across India and around the world will march here to celebrate India's Republic Day on the banks of the Ganga at the Kumbh Mela on January 26. This is part of an environmental parade seeking independence from pollution and to pay homage to war heroes. The march will be led by Swami Chidanand Saraswati, founder of Ganga Action Parivar. ...
01:23 PM, Jan 26, 2013
The biggest human gathering will congregate at Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad city to participate in the greatest show on earth - Maha Kumbh Mela. A whopping one crore people are estimated to take a dip on Monday in the confluence of three holy rivers - the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. In the next 56 days, over 10 crore pilgrims are expected in the city. ...
09:30 AM, Jan 13, 2013
A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into a bus carrying Shiite Muslim pilgrims in southwest Pakistan on December 30, killing 19 people, a government official and eyewitnesses said. Earlier on Dec 30, 21 tribal policemen believed to have been kidnapped by the Taliban were found shot dead in Pakistan's troubled northwest tribal region, government officials said. ...
04:02 PM, Dec 30, 2012
The countdown for Maha Kumbh 2013, beginning on Jan 14, has started, as hundreds of religious seers and followers of the Juna Akahada, Agni and Avahan Akahadas entered the Mela premises near the Sangam in Allahabad on Tuesday. ...
10:02 AM, Dec 19, 2012
Sabarimala: Five days after the Sabarimala pilgrimage season opened, some unsavoury reports about prasadam and fleecing of pilgrims have come in, but administrators say it is just media sensationalism. As one climbs the hill from the base point at Pamba to reach the temple atop, traditional crackers being burst is the first point of fleecing pilgrims. A Rs 5 fire cracker is being sold for Rs 10 to pilgrims. At...
02:32 PM, Nov 20, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Southern Railway has opened a reservation counter at Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala to serve devotees visiting the hill shrine, where the annual pilgrim season is underway. A divisional railway release on Monday said the single window counter for ticket booking, cancellation and fare related enquiries would function from 8 AM to 8 PM. The Railway has announced special trains from different destinations in the country and back...
11:57 AM, Nov 19, 2012
Colombo: Sri Lanka on Tuesday lifted an advisory warning its nationals against travelling to Chennai, which was issued a month ago following an attack on a group of pilgrims visiting Tamil Nadu. "The government of Sri Lanka believes that the travel advisory is no longer required," a statement issued by the External Affairs Ministry said. The travel warning was issued in early September following an attack on a group of...
02:45 PM, Oct 09, 2012
Malappuram: The first batch of Haj pilgrims left for Saudi Arabia from here on Saturday. Almost 300 pilgrims were seen off by Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed from the airport here. The state Haj Committee had selected 8,229 pilgrims from 49,403 applicants this season. The committee has also provided an ATM and a SIM card to each pilgrim. The pilgrims would travel by Saudi Airlines, which will...
12:23 PM, Oct 06, 2012
New Delhi: Around seven people died and 11 others were injured when the bus they were travelling in turned turtle in Burdwan district of West Bengal. The incident happened on the Durgapur expressway on Sunday morning. The victims were mostly from Bihar's Hajipur area and had gone to visit the Kalighat temple in Kolkata. They were on their way back when the accident took place. The injured were shifted to...
10:46 AM, Sep 30, 2012
Tirupati: A pilgrim Jayamma(67) from Bengaluru died while she was trekking to Tirumala on July 11 and another pilgrim Chinta Chinna Bhadraiah(45), a native of Sattenapalli in Guntur district died of cardiac arrest on August 4 this year, walking the Srivari Mettu trail. These two incidents reveal how pilgrims are risking their lives and coming to the Shrine for fulfilling their vows to the Lord, notwithstanding their health condition and...
12:00 PM, Sep 22, 2012
Madurai: The CPM on Thursday described the demonstrations and attacks on Sri Lankan Pilgrims in Tamil Nadu as unfortunate. "There may be difference of opinion regarding Sri Lankan Government's action against Tamils living in that country, but that should not come in the way of people-to-people relationship between the two countries," CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said. "It is unfortunate the incident has taken place in Tamil Nadu," he told...
02:24 AM, Sep 07, 2012
Chennai: Toeing the Centre's line for cordial ties with Sri Lanka, key UPA ally DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Wednesday virtually blamed Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for attacks on Lankan pilgrims, saying her action in sending back a football team from that country had led to the incidents. "(Jayalalithaa's) efforts to show that this government is concerned for Sri Lankan Tamils by sending back the football players led to attacks...
03:46 PM, Sep 05, 2012
New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday described as "most unfortunate" the attack on Sri Lankan pilgrims in Tamil Nadu by activists of Tamil outfits and said the government is "very firm" that these kind of incidents do not recur. "It is most unfortunate. It should not happen. Government is very firm that these kind of things do not happen," party spokesman PC Chacko said. He said the AICC General Secretary in-charge...
01:21 AM, Sep 05, 2012
Trichy: In spite of reassurance given by the UPA government to Sri Lanka that its citizens are safe in Tamil Nadu, protests, which are in their second day, have forced nearly 200 Sinhala tourists to cut their pilgrimage short. The incident comes just days after the Tamil Nadu government refused permission and sent back a Sri Lankan football team visiting Chennai for a friendly match. And Colombo's travel advisory though...
08:27 PM, Sep 04, 2012
Chennai: A batch of 178 Sri Lankan tourists faced fresh protests in Tamil Nadu with a pro-LTTE group trying to block seven buses carrying them. The police have arrested nine people of the group. The Lankan tourists were returning to Nagapattinam after offering prayers at Velankanni. The pilgrims are expected to head out to Sri Lanka on Tuesday. In a separate incident, black flags were also shown to the tourists...
03:38 PM, Sep 04, 2012
