Hodka ready for foreign tourists

Hodka village of Kutch district is ready to welcome tourists from across the country and abroad. The village, located near Bhuj, is one of the 15 sites being developed under the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India's Rural Tourism Scheme.

The village is jointly being developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Tourism, along with a local umbrella NGO Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS).

"The Hodka village is ready to be marketed as a rural tourism destination. The village has been developed as a rural tourism destination with the help of the local NGO, KMVS. A special website has also been developed to market the village ¿ www.hodka.in and www.exloreindia.org, which features all the villages developed under the scheme," a senior official of tourism department of Gujarat said.

"The Rural Tourism Scheme is a central government-funded scheme under MoT. All villages being developed under the scheme are entitled to get funds of Rs 50 lakh for developing hardware facilities which include improvement of infrastructure and development of other facilities."

"The Hodka village has been developed and it is already being marketed as "Shaam-e Sarhad" resort. A federation of local women's groups, the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, other NGOs of Kutch such as Shrujan Trust, Hunnarshala Foundation and Kutch Eco Tourism Cell are also partners in the development of the village," he said.

"There has been an 8 per cent to 10 per cent increase in the tourists arrival to the village sites after the launch of the Rural Tourism Scheme.

Efforts have been made to integrate the site with other major tourist destinations."

Hodka is located in the north-west of Kutch district, on the edge of the Rann of Kutch and 63 km from Bhuj. Facilities at Shaam-e-Sarhad include different types of accommodation including tents, family tents and Bhungas.

The bhungas are circular mud huts which are designed in such a way that it provides maximum resistance to the scorching of desert heat. There are in all 6 tents, 2 family tents and 3 bhungas at the resort.

On the advantages it brings to the local people, he said, "Local people are being trained as bhomiyas (guides). Crafts workshops in embroidery and leather work, where the tourists can learn a range of techniques directly from the artisans, can be organised on request. The local artisans are paid for holding these workshops and they also gives them a chance to sell their handicrafts directly to the tourists."

The rural tourism effort is also being helped by specialised national organisations like Deputy Commissioner Handicraft, Deputy Commissioner Handloom, National Institute of Design (NID-Ahmedabad), CII and FICCI.

As per the MoT the other 14 sites ready to be marketed include villages like Pochampalli of Andhra Pradesh, Sualkuchi of Assam, Nepura of Bihar, Jyotisar of Haryana, Naggar of Himachal Pradesh, Banavasi of Karnataka, Aranmula and Kumbalangi of Kerala.

Chougan and Pranpur of Madhya Pradesh, Samode of Rajasthan, Lachen of Sikkim, Karaikudi of Tamil Nadu and Ballavpur Danga of West Bengal are also on the list.