Karwar: The Union Tourism Ministry has launched a scheme ‘Swadesh Darshan’ with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country. As part of this, all the three coastal districts of the State--Dakshin Kannada, Uttara Kannada, and Udupi have been included in the scheme.

The tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness, and sustainability in an integrated manner.

With the Central government launching this scheme to promote tourism and develop tourist spots across the country, the coastal regions are ready to make use of all the facilities being provided by the Union government. Towards attracting a large number of tourists towards the coastal regions and to facilitate them by providing the needed facilities, the Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada circles have been formed.

The scheme focuses to attract more number of visitors to these regions by implementing various creative 
methods. 

The funding of projects under this scheme varies from State to State. It has been finalised on basis of detailed project reports prepared by the Programme Management Consultant (PMC) 
which is a national-level consultant for implementing the scheme. The Union Tourism Ministry has sanctioned Rs 10 crore under the scheme for the development of coastal districts in the State.

As part of developmental initiatives, CCTV surveillance cameras will be installed on the seashores and beaches to ensure safety of the tourists. This is aimed at allowing the tourists to enjoy to their hilt on the beaches without fearing about their safety.  Along with this, funds will be utilised for the purchase of beach cleaning machines, surfing equipment, water sports equipment, and opening of scuba diving centre, said an official of the Tourism Department.

‘Kashmir of K’taka’

Uttara Kannada is popularly known as ‘Kashmir of Karnataka’. It is blessed with a wide variety of flora and fauna and is well connected to prominent cities in India. The district is also blessed with pristine beaches and beautiful Western Ghats. It beckons people from across the country towards it the whole year, and especially during monsoon season. 

As per the statistics of Tourism Department, from last three years, the district is receiving more number of tourists. This is all because of the innovative methods implemented at the tourists spots across the district, said an official from the Tourism Department.

The Shilpavana, which was inaugurated last year in Karwar is one of the top tourist spots, which is witnessing more number of tourists during the weekends.

Every weekend, more than 2,000 people visit the Shilpavana. The canopy walk, which was inaugurated at Kuveshi near Dandeli has not been opened for people. However, it has increased the popularity of the district on the map. Along with this, the Hornbill Festival, held at Dandeli, has contributed much to the development of tourism. According to Tourism Department records, 4,32,599 tourists visited the district in 2016. In 2017, the number of visitors increased to 7,48,135. And up to July 2018, more than 3,73,985 people have visited the tourists’ spots in the district.