Bhubaneswar: Pilgrim Town Puri is among the Saptha Moksha Puri (Seven Liberation destinations), promoted by the Ministry of Tourism in a holistic manner.
The other destinations are Ayodhya, Mathura, Maya (Haridwar), Kashi (Varanasi), Kanchi Avantika (Ujjain), and Dwaravati (Dwaraka, Gujarat).
According to a PIB press release, the Ministry of Tourism undertakes promotional campaigns in domestic and global markets through electronic, print and digital media to promote the various tourist destinations and products of the country.
Further promotions are also undertaken through the official website as well as through the social media handles of the Ministry.
The Ministry of Tourism provides financial assistance under the ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ Scheme with the objective of integrated development of the identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations in consultation with the respective State Governments/ Union Territories (UTs).
Financial assistance is also provided under the Swadesh Darshan for the development of tourism infrastructure.
The identification of sites is mainly the prerogative of the State Governments/UT Administrations.
The projects are sanctioned subject to the availability of funds, submission of suitably detailed project reports, adherence to Scheme guidelines, utilization of funds released earlier, etc.
The Swadesh Darshan Scheme has been revamped to SD 2.0 for the development of sustainable and responsible tourist destinations and Dwarka has been selected for development under SD 2.0.
This was revealed in a reply by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North-Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
