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Journalism of Courage
The onset of monsoon and a long weekend has been an ideal time for revellers to make a beeline for popular tourist destinations around Pune — Malshej Ghat, Matheran and Lonavala.
Officials at Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) said 80 per cent of their resorts were booked for the weekend and the demand for the resorts has shot up even for the upcoming holidays.
“Generally, people club a public holiday — and this time it was Ashadi Ekadashi and Bakri Eid with a weekend. Despite the heavy rain in the ghats, there is a great deal of enthusiasm among people who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life,” Deepak Harne, regional manager, MTDC told The Indian Express.
There are 30 resorts of MTDC spread across Maharashtra and some are leased out to other agencies.
Apart from Malshej, Matheran and Lonavala, there is a demand to visit Ajanta and Ellora caves at the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Division of the corporation. “Tourist lodges at Fardapur and Lonar are located in scenic surroundings and are close to world heritage sites. Verul’s temples and caves — carved entirely in stone — apart from the Lonar lake, are an added attraction,” said Harne.
The corporation has appealed to tourists to be careful while taking selfies, specially at waterfalls, and advised againts wandering through unknown forests. “We have provided the guidelines at all the tourist lodges of the corporation,” said Dekhane.
The MTDC has also provided facilities for a pre-wedding photo shoot, destination wedding and corporate conferences.
As part of Varsha (monsoon) Tourism, MTDC officials are actively promoting a 50 per cent discount for accommodation facilities for women.
Special concessions have been given for older women, ex-servicemen and for the disabled.
Top spots
Shaniwar Wada in Pune was among the top ten monuments that saw a large number of people from within the country visiting the iconic structure in 2021-2022, as per data from the Indian Tourism Statistics-2022. The top three were Taj Mahal, Red Fort and Qutb Minar.
Over five lakh people from within the country visited Shaniwar Wada while more than 32 lakh and 13 lakh visited the Taj Mahal and Red Fort respectively.
