Gujarat accuses Centre of discrimination in tourism sector

Gujarat today accused the Centre of discriminating against it, saying it was not giving green signal to develop as a "heritage route" the Sabarmati-Dandi stretch which was used by Mahatma Gandhi for the historical salt march in 1930.
"Gujarat Tourism continues to be discriminated against by the Government of India and in spite of clear assurances from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to develop the world famous Dandi Route, no green signal is being given to the Government of Gujarat," state Tourism Minister Saurabhbhai Patel said here.
Speaking at the National Conference of Tourism Ministers organized by the Union Tourism Ministry, Patel also criticised the Centre for not including the state in its 'Incredible India' campaign.

"Gujarat has not been included in the flagship Incredible India campaign of the Tourism Ministry and none of the destinations of Gujarat have been projected," he said at the conference chaired by Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi.
On the concern over safety of tourists flagged by Chiranjeevi, Patel said Gujarat government is taking care of this aspect and various steps have been taken to ensure security of tourists.
He said the state government has created a special police force under the Home department to enforce safety and security measures for tourist influx.
He said the state tourism has registered a growth rate of 13.62 per cent in 2012-13, "much higher" than the national average growth in the sector.