4,438 Haryana tourism rooms ready for Commonwealth Games

Union Tourism Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja today said 7,000 rooms will be made available by Haryana Tourism in the National Capital Region during the Commonwealth Games 2010, out of which the construction work of as many as 4438 rooms had already been completed.

The Tourism Department has started the online reservation system to bring transparency and efficiency in the reservation for these rooms, Kumari Selja said at the inauguration of the Gurgaon Tourism Mela -2009 organised by Haryana Tourism Mart here.

She lauded the efforts of the Haryana Government in its preparation for the Commonwealth Games-2010. She said a decision would soon be taken to set up two projects at Surajkund and Dundaheda under an ambitious scheme of the Government.

She said splendid Tourist Centers have been set up at the National Highways by the Tourism Department for the comfort and convenience of the tourists. Apart from this, such Tourist Centers have also been set up at the district headquarters and other important places. Along with the Highways, roadside eateries or 'Dhabas' had also been developed and stress laid to develop Tourism Hub in the state.

She said the work on 7,000 rooms, to be made available during the Commonwealth Games, was on a fast track and almsot 80 per cent work on these rooms was complete. The Central Government was ready to extend all possible help to the Haryana Government to promote tourism specific highway and heritage tourism, she added.

Haryana Tourism Minister O P Jain said the state Government had announced its first Tourism Policy under which Tourism Development Council has been constituted for the planned development of the sector, so that it could get similar relaxations and incentives as enoyed by of other industries. Under the Tourism Policy-2008, adventures tourism was also being developed besides heritage and religious tourism. Melas were being organised at selected tourist places under heritage tourism.

The Minister said Haryana Tourism had achieved success at many fronts and it had bagged two national awards.

Panipat-Kurukshetra-Pinjore was being developed as Tourism Circuit.

Karnal Tourist Centre was being extended for which 32 acre of land had been acquired.