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From café culture of Los Angeles to 'lassi' of Rajasansi UN takes Rajasansi under its wing; Amritsar on world map Varinder Walia and Ashok Sethi A plush palace with ultra-modern cafes, a kaleidoscope of colours weaving a rich tapestry of Phulkari, glistening swords that shine brilliantly when unsheathed, smallish dice with which many a king wagered his kingdom, delicate jingling bangles, tall brass glasses famous for serving Punjabi yogurt "lassi" to guests - it's all set to be "Punjab darshan" complete with cultural and historical snippets for tourists, particularly foreigners, visiting Rajasansi. Punjab Government has selected the historical village of Rajasansi, about 11 km from the holy city of Amritsar, for the Central Government's United Nations Development New Country Programme (UNDNCP). The project, with the estimated cost of Rs 28 crore, has already been submitted to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. It envisages renovation of the old palace of Rajasansi, setting up of tourist information centres, kala Kendras for artisans, improvement of surroundings, illumination of historical buildings, laying of sewerage. With the Rajasansi International Airport being upgraded, a visit to Rajasansi village may become even more comfortable and tourism may receive yet another boost. Foreigners, with their penchant for historical yarns and cultural snippets, are apt to find this village just the right place to satiate their inquisitiveness. Already a large number of tourists arrive daily at the holy city of Amritsar. In fact, with the city and the Golden Temple being likely to be granted the "Heritage" status by the UNESCO, Amritsar would soon be on the world tourism map. Direct Singapore flight gives new connectivity Spread over 1100 acres, the Rajasansi International Airport is undergoing massive upgradation these days. The airport can now handle wide-bodied aircrafts, including jumbos, due to the extension and the strengthening of runway, taxi track and apron area. The airport, which is located a few kilometres from the international border, has started receiving about two lakh passengers from all over the world every year. The passenger traffic is growing with the increase in the number of flights. Mr V.S.Mulekar, Airport Director, says that the passengers' flow is likely to grow by more than 35 per cent annually. The airport can become a strong economic hub if tourist and cargo potentials of adjoining Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana are fully tapped. Besides the scheduled 38 weekly flights by Singapore, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan connecting to various destinations around the globe, the weekly tourist chartered flights for NRIs and foreign nationals from England and Europe have given impetus to the flow of the passengers. The recent direct Singapore flight, opening new routes and connections to Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia and even to Canada and the USA, has provided an international edge to the airport. The Singapore Airlines hopes to lift from here every week about 50 tonnes of cargo, including fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy products, hosiery, shawls, leather and sports goods and hand tools. The airport authorities, in collaboration with the local industry, are preparing an export-import potential vision paper, which would open a gateway to the world. A few problem areas like the Rs 16.80 crore terminal building that was expected to be completed by the end of the last year have been taken up by the authorities. This project had been hanging fire, as the Central Government's undertaking - Hindustan Steel Construction Limited - failed to do the construction work. The authorities have now assigned the task to a new construction company that has taken up the project on war footing. It is expected to be completed by the middle of the next year. It would provide modern décor and facilities, including escalators, conveyor belts, round-the-clock restaurants and coffee shop and other modern amenities. Interestingly, the cargo complex has already been completed. The next phase, which would have refrigerated block required for the export of fresh vegetables and other perishable goods, is also expected to start soon with the help of the APEDA (Agriculture and Processed Food Export Development Authority). However, some eyesores and problems still remain. An all-too-visible eyesore for a tourist landing here is the incomplete four-laning of the road connecting the city. The entire route between Amritsar and the airport remains in darkness after sunset. Big boost to tourism on cards A number of international airlines operating from different parts of the world to Amritsar are enticing more than two crore members of the Indian Diaspora, majority of them Punjabis, to visit their roots in India to start a tourism revolution in this part of the region. According to a study conducted by the Institute of Tourism And Future Management Trends (ITFT), Chandigarh, more than 26 per cent of the 45 lakh international passengers from the Indira Gandhi International Airport are from Punjab. Thereby, 11.4 lakh passengers travel from this region. It is estimated, as per the present trend and surveys, that this region suffers a revenue loss of about Rs 500 crore annually on account of people from this area moving to Delhi to catch international flights. The commencement of the flights by the Singapore Airlines adds a new
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