India Tourism slogan "Atithi Devo Bhavah" will soon have an Oriya flavour in it. If everything goes as planned, the state tourism department will have its "catchword" in Oriya in line with the "Atithi Devo Bhavah" concept, a nation-wide campaign that aims at sensitizing key stakeholders towards tourists.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by chief minister Naveen Patnaik here on Wednesday. "We are trying to decide upon a catchy and suitable word similar to the Atithi Devo Bhavah concept in Orissa," tourism secretary Santosh Sarangi said. "The motto will be the same to sensitize stakeholders of tourism industry. But it will be in Oriya. The campaign would be telecast in Oriya TV channels to spread awareness among all those associated with the tour and travel industry in the state," Sarangi said.
Naveen convened the meeting on Wednesday in the backdrop of the recent "molestation" of a British woman at the state-run Yatri Nivas at Konark on August 17. The accused, a waiter of the hotel was arrested on the same day and subsequently, the hotel's manager was shunted after a few days. "We are also taking disciplinary action against the accused. The staff will also be reshuffled, particularly at the senior level at the Konark yatri Niwas," tourism secretary said.
An inquiry report submitted by a joint probing team of state tourism department and Orissa Tourism Development Corporation, revealed that the British woman was allotted a non- AC room in the extreme end and isolated part of the Yatri Nivas even though all the 40 rooms of the hotel were vacant on that fateful day.
"The higher authorities of the hotel should not have provided her room in the isolated part of the hotel. It indicated the ill-intention of some of the hotel staff," an official of the tourism department said on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, at the meeting Naveen asked the tourism department to expedite the proposed Samuka Beach project at Puri which is moving at a snail's pace. The government also reiterated to launch a new tourism policy in the state to woo private investment for development of tourism infrastructure.
Read more: Oriya tang to entice tourists to state - Bhubaneswar - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Oriya-tang-to-entice-tourists-to-state/articleshow/6453032.cms#ixzz0yAIzhNjW
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