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Tamil Nadu town upbeat over upcoming apparel mart Tirupur (Tamil Nadu): Tirupur, a dusty town with a population of about half-a-million and nearly 1,000 textile exporters is reportedly excited about the prospect of an upcoming 200-acre apparel park by the end of the year. The park with an investment of nearly 2.50 billion rupees is expected to provide employment to about 15,000 people. Buyers from nearly 35 countries have already arrived in the town and brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Sara Lee, Wrangler, supermarket chains such as Walmart and Target are all making a beeline for it with their shopping list. "We exporters know that once the quota goes, the buyer will not be going to 10 countries. They will be going to one or more countries and they will not be going to 50 or 100 exporters as they are going. They will be considering only five to six exporters. We need huge factories, we need big production factories and that we have already started doing that," a foreign news agency quoted A.Shaktivel, the chairman of the Poppy's group, which has a turnover of 25 million dollars and employs 4,000 people, as saying. Murthy, a 35-year
old tailor, says he is eagerly waiting for the park to open as it would
enhance his business which is otherwise limited to festival time only.
"Everybody is waiting for the company to start. We are waiting to start
work as the company opens up. They say they will employ at least 30,000
people after they start functioning. That will be very nice and we shall
gain from that," he said. The textile and clothing sector is the largest
employer after agriculture and accounts for nearly four percent of India's
gross domestic product. But it suffers from several handicaps despite
India being a dominant player in cotton. The industry is fragmented
with small and medium firms and is hobbled by archaic labour laws, low
productivity and high cost of finance. But the government expects employment
to soar in the world's second most populous country to 91 million by
the end of 2006/07 from nearly 82 million and has set its sight on exports
of 50 billion dollars of exports by 2010. Sikkim coming alive through its boom eco-tourism drive (Go to Top) Gangtok: Sikkim is abuzz with activity because of a boom in tourism created by a sucessful marketing blitz. Literally meaning "Happy home", Sikkim is perched between Nepal in the west, Bhutan in the east, and Tibet (China) in the north. Its 7300 square miles of absolutely breathtaking landscape includes Mount Kanchanjunga, the third-highest peak in the world. The landscape is dotted with monasteries and palaces, besides heritage sites. The tiny land-locked province is also extremly rich in biodiversity, having over 150 lakes ranging in altitude from 200 meters to almost 8000 meters, 4000 species of flowering plants, 600 species of birds and some of the rarest of orchids. Facing tough competition from neighbouring Himachal Pradesh in the domestic market and the extremely hi-tech and manicured hill resorts of Europe in the international arena, Sikkim has been marketing its raw beauty through eco-tourism, a relatively new concept in India. "It's a very
good place, good and quite clean. Compared to other cities in India
Gangtok is one of the cleanest cities I have seen so far. Here there
is natural beauty, mountaints, waterfall...everything is so nice. I
think it's a very good place," said Peter Vaklav, a tourist from the
Czech Republic. "The volume may sound small but the happy news is that
the rate of growth is tremendous. We get 15 percent growth in respect
of domestic tourists and six percent growth in terms of international
tourists, which is very good by Indian standards," said P.K. Dong, the
executive director of the state tourism department. The World Travel
and Tourism Council expects India to be among three boom areas for tourism,
even though it now accounts for barely 0.4 percent of the global tourism
market. Analysts say Indian tourism suffers mainly from poor marketing,
with the sector unable to exploit the potential of the country's snow-clad
Himalayas, jungles, palaces and sun-soaked beaches. India spends just
10.5 million dollars a year promoting itself globally. Gold festival showcases Indian jewellery (Go to Top) New Delhi: Gold is in the air and one visit to the Minerals and Metal Trading Corporation's (MMTC) gold fest, which is on at the Ashoka Hotel's Convention Hall till October 24, will only make you believe so more strongly. The 'Gold Mela' features some of the most exotic jewels from across the country, with the main attractions being a gold set studded with diamond polkis worth one crore 19 lakhs and a 5 kg silver shawl made of over one lakh silver beads. But for N.K.Mathur, the chief of the MMTC's Precious Stones Division, the exhibition's focus is on the quality of the jewelry rather than its design. "Our exhibition aims at increasing the people's trust in the quality of the jewelry they purchase," Mathur told ANI in an exclusive interview today. Its main aim, he added, was not only to display craft and traditional jewelry, but to realise a "customer's benefit." To match up to its own standards, this year the MMTC has gone a step ahead by putting up a stall specifically for gem testing, thereby, providing customers with a hands on check for authenticity of their purchases. "We are here to test the quality and authenticity of the gems stones and help the customers know what they have actually bought," said V K Jain, a professor at the Indian Gemology Institute in Jhandewalan, North Delhi. "There is a great demand for checking the grading of diamond," Jain added. The first MMTC
exhibition was organized in 1997, and has since become a hallmark of
quality, attracting people from all walks of life. Dr. Marina, an Italian
, who has visited India regularly for the past 27 years, said that such
exhibitions showed what India really is all about. "I've been to many
such exhibitions and its only getting better, " she said. There, however,
were others who were not too impressed by the designs on display. "There's
no novelty, it's a kind of a small-pick and choose move kind of a display,"
said Kiran Arora. "The exhibits are ok, but the main attraction to this
place is the quality assurance," said Nisha Aggrawal. Mariana also echoed
the same sentiment, saying that there was nothing to showcase the Indian
essence. Dolls festival cynosure of Mysore Dasshara fest (Go to Top) Mysore: The
curtains may come down on Mysore's famous Dasshara festival on Saturday
evening, but people attending it will not forget the 'Bombe Habba' or
doll fest featuring the Goddess Durga in different forms. Traditionally,
Bombe Habba is when young girls and boys display their dolls in their
homes and invite their friends over. The display of the dolls during
the festival is a unique celebration in itself, as the public's keen
involvement in organising it, gives it the special significance that
it is known by. "I have come here to see the dolls display. It is very
good. I am happy to see them as a part of the Navarathri celebrations.
It is displayed to celebrate the victory. It is very traditional",said
a visitor. "We are keeping the dolls as a part of the tradition. We
have been doing it for so many years. It is basically to celebrate the
victory of good over evil. For us it is family tradition",said Gayatri
Shankar, one of the organisers of the festival. The replicas of the
Mysore Palace, the famous Dassehra procession, the many gods and goddess
attract visitors of all hues. Rs 5 cr to develop Bhavani island (Go to Top) New Delhi: The Central Government has has sancitoned Rs 5 crore for the development of Bhavani island in the Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh as a premier tourist destination. The first instalment of Rs 4 crore has been released to the state for taking up the work on a priority basis. Bhavani island, a conch-shaped island with an area of approximately 132 acres, is situated on the Krishna river, about 1500 meters upstream of the Prakasam barrage. This island, together with a few others nearby, are dynamic in nature, vibrant with vegetation and bird life. They cover an area of about 470 acres and Bhavani island is the largest of these emerald islands. Minister of State for Tourism Ms Renuka Chowdhury said the Centre has formulated the development plan for Bhavani island to create brand equity for the island in collaboration with the state. The destination will be showcased as total experience of adventure and leisure with associated facilities like resort development and water sports centre. The Ministry of Tourism will provide financial assistance for the development of cottages, conference facility, restaurants, entrance plaza and restaurant which includes restaurant, food counters, coffee shop and public conveniences and amphi theatre, . infrastructure which includes shore line roadways and purchase of water sport equipment. The island
is currently accessed by the tourists by the water fleet of the Andhra
Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Limited operating from Krishnaveni
Motel situated close to Prakasam barrage and from Berm park on the north
bank. The project aims to create an enticing amusement centre and a
unique waterfront experience to the optimal benefit of local residents
as well as domestic and international tourists. The island will have
a train and viewing tower. Rs 1 m silver replica as 350th birthday gift for Taj (Go to Top) Cuttack:
Filigree craftsmen from Orissa have made a spectacular replice of
the Taj Mahal in silver as a tribute to the world's most beautiful monument
of love on its 350th birth anniversary. The white marble mausoleum built
by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz
Mahal is celebrating its birthday with a six-month festivitiy and craftsmen,
inspired by the breathtaking and intricate art work on the monument,
are doing their bit to wish it a happy birthday. Filigree, an ancient
form of art involving pure silver, is know for its finesse and obsession
with even the minutest detail. The silver is spun into fine wires and
made into jewellery, dainty floral patterns, leafs and delicate writings
of holy verses. The main space of the frame is the filled with these
designs which are fused to form a rib-like mesh creating an incredible
effect. Over 10 of Cuttack's best craftsmen spent five months beating
the silver into fine designs and then assembling it to form the breathtaking
replica, which cost a massive Rs. one million. "This is the biggest
ever model of silver Taj Mahal in filigree and we are proud that our
craftsmen could finish it in record time. We are happy that we could
complete the model by the time of the 350 years of the Taj Mahal. This
is a small endeavour to the contribution of craftsmanship, " said Nand
Kishore, who sponsered the silver Taj replica. When compared with the
original, their efforts were peanuts, he added. Ajanta cave paintings wow Jaipur's art aficianadoes (Go to Top) Jaipur: Residents
and students of the Pink City are currently being treated to a rare
exhibition on the world famous paintings of the Ajanta Caves. There
are 30 caves in Ajanta, including some unfinished ones. Of them five
are prayer halls and the rest are monasteries. The paintings and sculptures
of Ajanta, considered masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, have been
a source of artistic influence. "The unique thing about it is that it
makes you think about the ancient forms of painting. So, we have come
here to learn and to know that even in those times there used to be
such great art," says Ashok, a visitor. Neetu, another visitor, says
the exhibition provides the students with a rare opportunity to know
about the caves in the correct perspective. "I liked the paintings as
I could learn a lot from the paintings. Things which are not clear in
the textbooks are here. There are a lot of reading material here," said
Neetu. "These paintings will help those children who cannot go to Ajanta
caves to know about the nuances of the art," said Asha Sharma, a teacher. HP police cracks down on cannabis cultivators (Go to Top) Malama
(Himachal Pradesh): Police in Himachal Pradesh have reportedly launched
a crackdown on farmers cultivating cannabis illegally in the Malama
region of the state's Kullu Valley. Located at 10,500 feet above sea
level, Malama, is a treacherous 12 km hike from the nearest motorable
road. The natural bounty of cannabis makes it a haven for smokers of
pot with almost everyone here being involved in its illegal trade. Police
officials claim that drug trafficking in the region is so widespread
that it has become the lifeline of the villagers. But the authorities
say that of late they have achieved considerable success in curtailing
this activity. "As compared to last year, the growth of cannabis in
the area has considerably come down. There were few areas where we have
destroyed cannabis cultivation. Few more areas have to be exposed. We
cannot give the exact figures of the area where growth is still there,
but I am sure that as compared to last year, the area would be less,"
claimed Kushal Sharma, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Narcotics),
Manali. Villagers naturally have expressed their resentment over the
crackdown. "We never had any idea that the government would put us in
jail for this. The land is ours, so we thought that growing anything
on it was legal. No one earlier bothered about us," said Mangat Ram,
a villager. Is the Kullu Valley fast becoming the drug capital of the
country? It certainly looks so, given the over 2,000 foreigners who
visit the valley every month in search of "bliss" and "nirvana" which
they reportedly attain through drugs. Many of them though never return. It's festive season in Goa again (Go to Top) Panaji:
As the festival season is about to set in, Goa is abuzz with lots
of activities and nightlife soon catching up in the city. The emerald
land of beaches, wine and swaying palms provide an ideal setting for
nightlife. After sunbathing the whole day at the beaches, tourists like
spending their nights at bars sipping beer. Shaking a leg or two, enjoying
the hip-hop music, the tourists say they enjoy the Goan ambience. "It
is very green and the water is very warm and beer tastes good. This
is my first 24 hours in India, Goa and it is very beautiful," Nick,
a tourist from Ireland. Larry, a foreigner enjoying holidays in Goa,
said that the state's hospitality simply floored him. Brian, a tourist
from Australia also agreed with Larry. "The quality of service that
we have experience in the days we have been here is extraordinary,"
Brian. With almost every third house, having a bar-cum-restaurant, Goa
provides an exciting tourist destination. For Shashi, hailing from Delhi,
the nightlife of Goa is enchanting especially the discotheques. For
him the nightlife of Goa is much better than metros like Mumbai and
Delhi. "Night life is awesome. Most often the people go to beaches,
but they should also enjoy the nightlife of Goa, which is great compared
to Delhi and Mumbai," she said. Asia's longest bridge to go broad gauge (Go to Top) Rameshwaram: Asia's longest bridge, the Pamban Bridge which joins the town of Rameshwaram to the Indian mainland is all set to be converted to a broad gauge rail track. The 2.2 kilometre long bridge, which became operational during WWI, way back in 1914, currently has a metre gauge track, and is supported by 1,212 pillars. G. Srivastava, chief engineer-in-charge of construction, said that the while the bridge between Madurai-Manamadurai would be opened before year-end, the link between Mandapam and Rameshwaram across the Pamban would in all likelihood through a "new bridge". The experts are however still to decide on the type of bridge they would go in for. "There are three types of bridges, one is the scherzer bridge which opens up. Second is the swinging bridge and the third is the lifted one. We have to decide which type of technology is suited to us and accordingly we will decide," he said. The Indian Railways who have appointed consultants for the bridge between Mandapam and Rameswaram, have pegged the cost of the conversion alone at approximately 174 million dollars. Engineers say, that not only the cost, the conversion would also hamper the train traffic over the bridge. But, all said and done, the bridge once completed will not only allow more pilgrims to visit the sacred town of Rameshwaram, even trade links between Sri Lanka and India will increase manifold. |
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