Karnataka’s Hampi to be developed as iconic tourism site, announces Centre

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to develop 10 prominent tourist sites as Iconic Tourism destinations in his budget speech on Feb 1.

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The Hampi monuments which are part of Karnataka’s cultural heritage, will be one of the 10 tourist destinations across India to be developed as ‘Iconic Tourism Site’ by the central government.

In the Union Budget presented on February 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, "The government proposes to develop ten prominent tourist sites as Iconic Tourism destinations through holistic infrastructure and skill development. In addition, tourist amenities will be upgraded at 100 Adarsh Monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).”

The selected tourist locations were announced on Tuesday and Hampi is one of them.

As part of the initiative, the Centre will take up 100 Adarsh Smaraks such as toilet blocks, drinking water facilities, pathways and ramps (for the differently abled), seating benches, dustbins, improved parking facilities, ticket counters, landscaping and more.

Located in Hosapete taluk of Ballari district, there are 57 major monuments in Hampi, most of which come under the core zone of Hampi, which includes four villages spread across 41.8 sq. km.

Lack of toilets at the monuments is one of the major drawbacks. “Many visitors use the space behind the monuments to attend to nature’s calls, which is a sad state,’’ an official told The New Indian Express.

Hampi was declared as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations for its architectural splendour.

The monuments in Hampi are maintained by the Central Archaeology Department.

In September 2015, the state government had proposed a tie-up between the iconic ruins of Hampi and Machu Picchu in Peru, South America, for both the sites to be developed as sister heritage sites.

The reason for this initiative was to get more international tourists to Hampi and increase their awareness about the heritage site.

As per the plan, the ticket for Machu Picchu would have a counterfoil that will provide free entry to Hampi for a period of two years.