Bhubaneswar promoting cycling as a part of its Smart City initiative

Cycling is a healthy and non-polluting way of travel and Bhubaneswar is promoting this activity as a part of its Smart City initiative. One of the key initiatives among Bhubaneswar's smart city proposal include construction of dedicated cycle tracks and pedestrian footpaths along key transport corridors. The civic body has already identified spots for construction of the tracks.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 July 2016.

Such cycling tracks already exist on the stretch between AG Square and Capital Hospital Square and some more tracks would be constructed. The civic body had been promoting cycling at the weekly Raahgiri event. Here bicycle rides are offered in partnership with an NGO. People were allowed to hire bicycles against a refundable fee of Rs 100 by producing identity proof.
Moreover, there is a cycling club where members have cycled at night from Bhubaneswar to Puri to Konark and back, covering 160km. Cycling not only helps to maintain fitness but is also a great way to experience nature. It seems people of the city are no longer averse to buying high-end cycles.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Foreign tourists give Puri a miss - drop in arrivals a matter of concern

Odisha is faced with a problem of drop in arrival of foreign tourists. Apparently, big-ticket events such as Nabakalebar of the Trinity in Puri is unable to attract foreign tourists to the state in expected numbers. It seems the foreign tourist footfall has declined in 2015, when the Nabakalebar was held, as compared to the previous year.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 29 May 2016.

As per statistics, a total of 71,426 foreigners visited the state in 2014 and it came down to 66,971 the next year when Nabakalebar was organised with great fanfare. The festival was witnessed by around 23,000 foreigners - this is around 35 per cent of the total foreign tourist footfall of the year. This is in spite of tall claims made by the state government that they had showcased the event in a manner that it created a global appeal.
Last year, only 0.83 per cent of foreigners, who visited the country, came to Odisha and this does not paint a happy picture. There are accusations that the state lacked in setting up foreigner-friendly tourist amenities. Moreover, the government's imposition of restriction on the visit of foreigners and researchers to the state's tribal areas have also had a negative effect and have played spoilsport.
Many tour operators felt that the foreigners are keen on exploring areas beyond the Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar triangle. Obviously, the tourism policy needs to be modified since the state has only been highlighting these three places. Tourists would want to explore other areas like the handloom clusters and tribal zones. But, there are no government packages for tourism in such areas.


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Tourists locked out of Konark Sun Temple due to protest by locals

Tourists to the Konark Sun Temple, a UNESCO Heritage site, were locked out and had to return disappointed because of agitation by locals over the increase in entry fees. The locals had made the temple off limits to thousands of tourists when a group of locals locked the monument's main gate to protest the recent hike in the prices of entry ticket.
This 13th century Sun Temple witnesses footfall of at least 5,000 tourists on any given day which increases to nearly double in peak seasons. Konark is a seaside location and attracts maximum tourists due to its close proximity to Bhubaneswar and Puri.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 May 2016.

It seems on April 2 the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had increased the entry fee to Konark temple from Rs 10 to Rs 30 for tourists from across India, the SAARC nations and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries. The price was doubled to Rs 500 for tourists from other countries.
Tourists and travel professionals have sought immediate intervention of the state government to resolve the crisis and the tour operators and travel agencies have urged the tourism department to discuss the matter with the top officials of the ASI.
An entry fee at the Sun Temple in Konark was first imposed in 1996 and was last revised in 2000 to Rs 10 for Indians and Rs 250 for foreigners.


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