CHANDIGARH: Chandigarh administration has planned to  make city beautiful popular destination among the tourists coming to North India. The road map is laid to tap the tourists passing through the city on their way to
Himachal Pardesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. 

Punjab Governor and Chandigarh UT administrator Gen (Retd) S.F. Rodrigues in a message on Monday said that Chandigarh was a success story, a revolutionary experiment and a tourists’ paradise, with a excellent
support structure and efficient services network.

At present, it has various places of interest for tourists including the Capitol Complex, Zakir Rose Garden, Rock Garden, Sukhna Lake, Museum and Art Gallery with a sound and light show, Leisure Valley, Terrace Garden, Topiary Park, Hibiscus Garden, Shanti Kunj, Garden of Fragrance, Botanical Garden and Kansal and Nepali forest reserves and Rajiv Gandhi Information Technology Park. Various innovative transport facilities have been added for tourist traffic and a tourists’ Kiosk Centre has been set up, in Sector 17 to provide guidance and information.

For the first time, the new year festival is being organised in Chandigarh to attract tourists in the city. A series of functins including cultural evenings have been planned on new year eve. The city is expected to say hello to new year with vibrant colours.

To make new year memorable, the Chandigarh administration has decided to hold Rock Show on December 27 at sector 17 plaza. "Wonder Boys" a group of 20 young artists from Mumbai will rock the city. On December 29 and 31, there would be cultural extravanga in Leisure Vaeely and Chandigarh Club repsectively where renowned singers Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam will perform. On December 30 there would be song programme "Old is Gold" in sector 22 and there will be fire works on December 31 at Chandigarh sector 17 beside illumination of all the buildings. The new year will open upclassical Music performance by Subhash Ghosh at the Sukhna Lake on January 1,2007.

Rodrigues said that in order to further enhance the level of interest among tourists and visitors, the Administration is in the process of implementing plans for setting up of a mega Theme-cum-Amusement Park on
the outskirts of Chandigarh and a Multimedia-cum-Film City.  The Theme Park would be set up over an area of
73 acres and would highlight Indian culture and mythology while entertaining visitors and holding their interest for atleast 2 to 3 days. 

This project would place Chandigarh on the regional tourism map, as it would be the first of its kind in
the country.  We are expecting atleast a million visitors to the Theme Park annually. The Project is
likely to be made open to the public by the end of 2008.  The main theme of the Theme Park will be our
cultural heritage. The Theme park would comprise of rides and games alongwith a mini water park, a mini
India model, a museum of wax figures, along with necessary facilities like a mini mono rail, restaurants, food courts, parking and large green spaces. The Multimedia-cum-Film city would also be a tourist attraction as it would feature modern animation displays and would showcase latest trends in multimedia, animation gaming along with digital studios for film and TV serial productions. Its theme would be ‘Space & the Future’.

Laying special emphasis on the promotion of Medical Tourism, Cinematic Tourism, Rural Tourism and Heritage
Tourism, the Administration is also focusing on attracting tourists through special packages in specific fields of interest.  Heritage Tourism is of great interest to students of architecture who come to study the buildings and the urban planning of Le Corbusier.
 
The administration is also promoting Chandigarh as a destination for film making and facilitating film
makers as per the advice of Chandigarh Film Advisory Committee which has been set up under the Chairmanship of  Yash Chopra, eminent Film Producer and Director.

A special and innovative initiative of the Administration is to set up a Museum of Knowledge to meet the requirements of the present times as per the concept conceived by Le Corbusier. This Museum of Knowledge will showcase issues facing emerging New India and in the comity of Nations.  The harmonious integration of the people in our multi cultural society will be emphasized. Other initiatives which are to be undertaken in the near future including the setting up a Convention Centre, to position Chandigarh as a city of Conventions and creating facilities like camping sites and budget accommodation, apart from high end hotels for visitors. 

Another new project of a 450 acre Acquatic Bio-sphere park has been planned, which will be place  of
recreation and education about our Acquatic fauna. Besides re-modeling & the beautification of Sukhna
Lake, five new water bodies, various light and sound shows, the creation of Leisure Valley along Patiala-ki-Rao are other projects which are being implemented very soon. We have nearly 2000 parks and more are being created.

Rodrigues said in his message that with a view to making Chandigarh a favourite tourist destination and
changing its image as a mere stopover, the Chandigarh Administration has set out a new roadmap, with the
focus on adding new features of attraction and strengthening the network of tourism related support services. The Administration has taken a series of initiatives with a view to promote Chandigarh, along with the States of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, by offering a low budgeted package of sight-seeing to different places and with  tie-up arrangements with the concerned States.