A national level programme to mark 'National Tourism Day' on January 25 (next year) will be organised at Telangana's Pochampally, known for its famous hand-woven Ikat saris, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy said on Sunday.
"Several states organise events on 'National Tourism Day'. This time, the Centre decided to organise the main event at Pochampally in association with the Telangana government on January 25," Kishan Reddy told reporters here. Pochampally village about 50 km from here was selected as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
As part of 'National Tourism Day', seminars, cultural events and other programmes will be organised, he said. Similarly, programmes will be organised at 75 major tourism centres and all tourist destinations across the country wherein special events including cultural events, light and sound shows will be organised, he said.
The Union Minister further said it has also been decided to organise an All India Conference on Temple Architecture during last week of February next year either at Ramappa temple premises (historical Ramappa Temple in Mulugu district of Telangana, which was recently inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site) or in Warangal.
Meanwhile, Kishan Reddy accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of raking up the paddy procurement issue in order to divert the people's attention from the defeat (of TRS) in the bypoll to Huzurabad Assembly segment. "A vicious campaign is being undertaken by the CM. His speeches are provocative," Kishan Reddy alleged. The TRS government has been demanding that the Centre announce the annual target for paddy procurement from Telangana.
Rao had recently challenged Kishan Reddy to take steps to ensure parboiled rice from Telangana is purchased by the Centre and alleged that the Central Ministers were telling lies and giving misleading statements over the paddy procurement issue. He had recently threatened that they would carry the paddy (additional paddy stocks) in trucks and dump them in front of India Gate and Prime Minister's residence in Delhi, Union Minister Kishan Reddy's house and the BJP office as well. Rao, along with cabinet colleagues, had also staged a dharna here in November over the issue.
Stepping up its attack on the BJP and the NDA government over paddy procurement, the TRS on Friday said it would hold protests against the Centre's alleged anti-farmer policies on December 20. State BJP leaders, meanwhile, have said there is no issue over paddy procurement and that the Centre would purchase paddy as per the agreement between the state government and Central agencies.
-With PTI Inputs
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