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Journalism of Courage
Two years ago, when Chhattisgarh decided to lure the world to its doorsteps, it knew whom to call. Enter Dr A Jayathilak, the man behind Kerala’s highly successful ‘backwater holidays’ campaign. And, out rolled the line: Nowhere else in India.
Today, that catchy caption still holds true, but not in the way it was meant to be.
After shaking the world awake with classy ads, tourism promotion awards in 2003 and 2004, and two National Geographic films, Mission Chhattisgarh has run head-on into a phalanx of angry babus and politicians.
Jayathilak, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board’s managing director, has been shifted out as Commissioner Excise and Taxation, with officials accusing him of promoting his own image and the new government asking questions about the huge publicity bill of nearly Rs 3 crore.
But the real story lies in the recent change of power in the State. Chief Minister Raman Singh’s BJP government has a different take on tourism. And it’s definitely not the Kerala model promoted by Congress’ Ajit Jogi.
The new focus, according to Tourism Minister Brij Mohan Aggarwal: promote mass domestic tourism, particularly the temple circuit, rather than the five-star version.
According to Chief Minister Raman Singh, there are plans to develop ‘‘a Buddhist excavation site at Sirpur, which is four times bigger than Nalanda. Some ancient temples like Bheoramdeo, called the Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh, Champaran, the birthplace of Sri Vallabhacharya, the three deities’ temples at Rattanpur, Dongargarh and Danteshwari at Dantewara have also been identified.’’
To do this, Aggarwal says, ‘‘the government has to built infrastructure. Unless we take a lead, the private sector will not come forward. Some of the hotel projects we wish to take up were started by the Madhya Pradesh government, when I was the tourism minister then. Jogi had no vision about tourism.’
Obviously, Jayathilak’s vision doesn’t fit either.
The new regime wants to reverse most of his decisions, scrap some ongoing projects and re-launch others. An example: the move to open a National Institute of Catering Technology in Raipur at the site of the defunct Chhattisgarh hotel has been scrapped. The hotel will now be reopened.
After his shifting late yesterday, despite his three-year tenure running till 2005, Jayathilak — a doctor turned IAS officer from Kerala — clarifies that the money spent on publicity included cost of commercials and films produced by National Geographic Channel, besides sponsored trips for travel writers. ‘‘You understand my problem. It’s not proper for me to react (to the shift)’’, he says. ‘‘For me, tourism is a passion, and I tried to do the best. Whatever little I could do in the last two years remain quite rewarding.’’
Then, he moves on to the brighter side of Chhattisgarh’s tourism scenario. The major brand building exercise, he explains, addresses the State as a land ‘‘full of surprises’’, fast emerging as a eco and ethnic tourist destination.
The vision: to highlight Chhattisgarh’s lesser known facets. And that’s what the recent ad campaign zoomed in on: the spectacular Chitrakote waterfall, the biggest in the country with floodlights for night-viewing, the rare Bastar hill Mynah, which can imitate the human voice better than any other bird, and the Indira Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Asia’s only university for music and art.
Focus is being placed on the integrated development of specific areas and circuits. Bastar, the home of the oldest tribal community, dotted with ancient caves and dense green forests is one priority destination.
‘‘The marketing and communications strategy revolves around removing ignorance about the State, rather than driving tourist traffic. Our excellent roads is a real bonus, along with the rich biodiversity,’’ he says.
