IRCTC enters into agreement to promote tourist spots of Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to promote tourist places of the state through the PSU's social media platform, a government official here said.

The agreement, signed in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel during the Tourism Conclave organized here by CTB to mark the World Tourism Day, will boost the key sector in the state, he said.

Under the MoU, the IRCTC will promote tourist places of Chhattisgarh through its social media platform, thereby helping attract travellers from other parts of the country, the official said.

Speaking on the occasion, Baghel highlighted the uniqueness of Chhattisgarh's rich culture and history and stressed on the need to showcase them to the world.

"Earlier, the mere mention of Chhattisgarh conjured up images of Maoist violence and mineral resources. Tourism in the state was neglected for a long time and even after the formation of the state (in 2000) it could not get due popularity and the focus remained centred on Maoist issues," he said.

There was a need to put tourist places of Chhattisgarh on the world tourism map and his government was continuously making efforts in this direction, the chief minister added.

Meanwhile, the CM also unveiled a statue of Chendru Mandavi, popularly known as 'tiger boy' from Bastar's Narayanpur district, who gained international fame after starring in the movie "Jungle Saga", directed by noted Swedish filmmaker Arne Sucksdroff in the late 1950s, the official said.

Mandavi's grandfather had rescued a tiger cub from jungles and gifted it to him in his childhood. He reared the tiger named Tembu.

The Swedish filmmaker had visited Mandavi's village Gadhbengal (Narayanpur district) and made a film on him, he said.

Baghel also released a memento of CTB depicting the friendship of Mandavi, who died in 2013, and the tiger.

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