Mandi may have ‘Shiv dham’ to attract tourists

Shimla: Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur has said that the state was planning to develop ‘Shiv dham’ in Mandi, where replicas of 12 ‘jyotrilinga’ will be created to attract tourists as well as locals. He said that under this project, Mandi lake would also be developed besides there was a plan to introduce the concept of Beas ‘aarti’ on the lines of Ganga ‘aarti’.
There is a proposal to develop Shiv Dhamat Kangnidhar hill top above Mandi town and it will be connected with a cable car ropeway facility which would also be a mode of transportation for locals and tourists.Moreover, the banks of the Beas here would also be developed besides an artificial lake.
Thakur has already asked the officials to explore the possibility of connecting Kangnidhar with Tarna temple. The project to develop Mandi as a tourist destination would be funded by the Asian Development Bank. However, till the government receives funds, work on this project would be started through state funds in the first phase.
While presiding over a presentation made by a private company regarding tourism development in the state in Shimla on Saturday, the chief minister said that the state government was working for holistic development of tourism potential in the state by giving special thrust on economy, culture and religious and adventure tourism. He further said that Janjehli area in Mandi district would be developed from the eco-tourism point of view, Bir Billing in Kangra district as para-gliding and adventure sports destination, Pong Dam for water sports and Chanshal area in Shimla district for winter sports and skiing.
He added that in order to lessen the burden from already overcrowded tourists destinations like Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala, etc., the government had launched ‘Nai rahein, nai manzilen’ scheme to create world class infrastructure for tourists at virgin destinations of the state.