MTDC Resorts – A Boon for Tourists in Maharashtra

MTDC RESORTS

Travellers from across the globe are pouring in every day to discover new destinations in the state. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has constantly worked to offer an enriching experience to the visitors. The six resorts that were built by MTDC in the last five years at Sakoli (District Bhandara), Ambhora (Nagpur), Mozari Point Chikaldara (Amravati), Bodhalkasa (Gondia), Gaganbawda (Kolhapur) and Kunakeshwar (Sindhudurga) have immense potential to allure visitors from across the globe and help MTDC to promote untapped destinations. The details of these resorts, and how to reach them are as follows:

1. SAKOLI

Sakoli is a small town in district Bhandara of Maharashtra. From cultural and historical spots, natural beauty, adventure and entertainment activities there are several exciting prospects for travellers to discover Sakoli. Just a few kilometres away from the Chulbhand river and surrounded by ponds and lakes, Sakoli is located on the Mumbai-Kolkata national highway.

You can reach there by road, located 101 Kms from Nagpur for which all kinds of transport is available whereas nearest railway stations and airport are Nagpur.

From here you can visit Andhalgaon, known as the dark village in Bhandara tehsil, apart from being a major supplier of Kosa silk cloth, is also famous for its weaving industry and manufacturing silk-bordered clothes, The Gondumari Palace, 10km away from Sakoli, is a place of historic importance and Explore the wildlife of Nagzira National Park and Navegaon Bandh Bird Sanctuary.

Here you can stay at MTDC’s leased out its property to M/S Tuli Hospitality Pvt Ltd and is an ideal destination for visitors looking for homely comfort.  

2.  AMBHORA

Ambhora Village is situated on the bank of Wainganga River in Kuhi Taluka 75-km away from Nagpur. The key attractions of Ambhora are the shrines on the confluence of the three rivers — Wainganga, Kanhan and Amba. Overwhelmingly beautiful, Ambhora is home to Shri Harinath Temple and Ambatitthak Buddha Vihar which have major pilgrim footfalls at least thrice during festivals annually.

You can reach here Road: State transport buses are available from Nagpur to Ambhora and visitors can hire private transports too. Nearest railway station and airport is Nagpur.

You can visit Markanda, a shrine devoted to Lord Shiva and a sacred place of worship for Hindus,  in the middle of Chamorshi which is situated on the bank of Wainganga river. Tadoba, called the Jewel of Vidarbha because of its rich tiger reserve, is the oldest national park in the state. Ambakhori, situated on the bank of Pench River, is the main attraction with its waterfalls and forests.

You can stay at MTDC’s Holiday Resort, Ambhora, an ideal destination for the travellers to experience the nature’s ecstasy.

3. MOZARI POINT, CHIKHALDARA

Mozari Point

Mozari Point is situated in a picturesque setting with a deep valley on three sides. It offers splendid views of sunrise and sunset. This point is 2-km away from Chikaldara district headquarters. Visitors can also approach the Devi Point area and west side of Gawilgarh Fort which provides a magnificent view.

Public transports are available from Nagpur, Badnera and Akola.  The nearest railway stations are Badnera and Akola which are almost 80-km away from Chikhaldara. Several trains from Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur halts at both Badnera and Akola junction. The closest airport is at Akola, which is 150 km away from Mozari Chikhaldara.

You can visit Gugamal National Park spread to 1673.93 square km was built in 1974. It is a small part of the Melghat Tiger Reserve. Bhimkund-Kichakdara is fenced with lush green background from all sides. Bhim-Kund is nearly 3500 ft. deep and visitors take bath to wash away their sins. Panchbol Point is 4-km away from Bir Lake. The five hills edges are linked naturally with several valleys to form a huge valley. This point is known as Five Eco Point.

You can stay at MTDC Mozari Point Resort has very spacious rooms with neat and hygienic ambience. The restaurant offers decent and homely food.

4. Bodhalkasa

Bodhalkasa, an attractive nature trail with wide dam and enlivenment, is about 135-km from Nagpur. There is an array of activities like speed boating, paddling and thrilling water sports. It is a perfect destination for adventure and wildlife. The visitors can dine with the tribes, explore their culinary, and culture.

Public transports are available from nearest town Tirora.  Nagpur, Tirora and Kachewani are the nearest railway stations, and the closest airport is Nagpur.

You can visit Bodhalkasa dam, an idyllic getaway for visitors, which is filled with adventurous nature trails, it is an excellent opportunity for visitors to enjoy jungle safari. Visitors can also avail of water sports activities like riding, paddling and speedboats.

You can stay at MTDC’s Bodhalkasa Resort which is about 7-km from Magezari Gate of Nagzira, wildlife century

5. Gaganbawada, Dist.-Kolhapur

Located in Kolhapur, Gaganbawada is one of the most beautiful hill stations of Maharashtra blessed with scenic beauty and an eccentric view of the Konkan coastal region. Due to this reason, many Hindi and Marathi filmmakers are attracted towards this hill station. This is also one of the most favourite developing destinations for trekkers. It is located on the stretch of Kolhapur-Kharepatan route, merely 55 kilometres from Kolhapur and is abundant in natural beauty. A haze of fog covers Gaganbawada most of the time during monsoon making it the best season to visit the serenity.

You can reach there by Road which is an hour and a half drive from Kolhapur bus stand. Kankavli and Kolhapur are the nearest railway stations to Gaganbawada. The closest is the Belgaum airport and is well -linked with major metro cities.

You can visit Gaganbawada, located within the Sahyadri range in the traditional Western Ghats, offers an extremely popular fortification ‘Gagangad’, just 1-km away from the destination. Karul Ghat & Bhuibavda Ghat are the two ghats, which fall in the category of the most scenic routes that originate from Gaganbawada. The Morjai temple and plateau is an attraction to hikers. It is 8-km away from town at a height of 980 MSL, a perfect example of ‘Sada Ecosystem’.

You can stay at MTDC Holiday Resort in Gaganbawada, Kolhapur is suitable for visitors as it offers superior quality stay and accommodation facility.

6. KUNKESHWAR (SINDHUDURG)

Kunkeshwar

Kunakeshwar is positioned in the Devgad taluka of Sindhudurg district, about 14-km away from Devgad and 438-km from Mumbai. Kunakeshwar temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located on the hillock facing the sea, where we can see a scenic sundown. The temple was built in the 12th century and has a 10m stone wall separating the temple from the sea.

You can reach there by State transport buses from Devgad, Kankavli and Malvan go to Kunakeshwar on a regular basis, visitors can also opt for hired private vehicles for this hour-long journey. The nearest railway station is Kankavli, which is around 51-km away from Kunakeshwar. The nearest airport is Panaji, Goa.

You can visit the Rock Cave, 1-km east of Kunakeshwar Temple, is a place of tourist attraction. The idols of this cave are carved out of black stone. At the coastline of Mithbav and Tambaldeg bird watchers get to see an attractive variety of winged creatures. This beach is calm and has less chaos as it is not amongst the regular trips of the tourists. Kotkamate is a small village situated 15-km away from Kunakeshwar. This temple was renovated in 1725 by Kanhoji Angre the admiral of Martha Navy. The temple has sculptures of goddess Shri Bhagvati.

You can stay at Kunkeshwar Resort (MTDC) in Sindhudurg which offers a holistic view of its pristine beaches away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

 

 

 

 

Yoga for your Health & Plants for our Mumbai’s Health

Yoga Day Celebrations 

“Instead of dividing, yoga unites; instead of further animosity, yoga assimilates; Instead of increasing suffering, yoga heals,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing over 50,000 yoga enthusiasts at Dehradun’s FRI on International Yoga Day.

The UN unanimously adopted 21 June as International Day of Yoga after PM Modi’s address to the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2014 and since then many countries are celebrating Yoga.

Following Hon’ble PM’s footstep, International Yoga Day was celebrated with élan at Charkop where nearly 2000 people did Yoga on the Street – Charkop junction prepared for the purpose with distinguished participants like Shri Yogesh Sagar, MLA and Mr Deepak Tawade, Nagar Sewak.

Art of Living Foundation’s Ms. Jaishree Ganatra successfully conducted Yoga for such huge gathering and people enjoyed it very much. The gathering comprising of school children, office goers, self-employed professionals, homemakers, senior citizens representing age groups from 9 – 90 did yogasanas. Ms Ganatra, in a very smooth manner, made them do asanaas like: Bhujangasan, Makarasan, Shirshasan, Setubandhasan, Pawan Mukt Asan, Kapaal Bharti and Alom-Vilom.

It really turned out to be unusual morning when I stepped out 5:30 in the morning to be there for 6 AM program. It was a sight to see so many people coming with their Yoga mats to be part of this mega celebrations. The enthusiasm of organisers – BJP Sports & Cultural Association took lead in this and President Mr Sunil Ankam appreciated the efforts of CREDAI – MCHI and Mission Green Mumbai’s Subhajit Mukherjee for distribution of saplings to residents including many school teachers.

All residents were very happy to receive it and of course, we were very happy to give the plants.  Hope people practice yoga every day for the good health and plant trees for Mumbai’s health. I was very happy to see all the participants walking with a sapling of their choice. This was part of our President Mr Mayur Shah’s mission to make Mumbai greener by planting trees. The motivation coming from him really helps in achieving such objectives.

Yoga day celebrations were held not only all over the country but in many countries across the globe like Thailand and Nepal. BSF personnel on Border to joined in yoga day celebrations.

Indeed, most talked about celebration was at Dehradun, Uttara Khand where over 50,000 people joined him for Yoga Session. The credit goes to him for making Yoga the worldwide phenomenon and bringing so much pride to India on an International level. In Mumbai, many Ministers and Celebrities joined Venkaih Naiduji, Hon’ble Vice – President of India for Yoga Day celebrations.

Thanks, CREDAI – MCHI and MISSION GREEN MUMBAI’s Shubhajit Mukherjee, whose passion for the environment is infectious,  for this unique opportunity as I had never attended any citizen’s program with such a huge gathering.

It is rightly said: You never stop learning!

 

Dadi Ki Rasoi…Sabke Man Bhaayi!!

It is very rare that I listen to BIG FM 92.7 on a Saturday, and it is equally rare that I don’t listen to BIG FM 92.7 on a Sunday. This Saturday turned out to be truly special in more ways than one, but about rest of the things later…

I heard RJ Richa Anirudh talking about “Dadi-Ki-Rasoi” from Noida in her program Zindagi with Richa. She mentioned that she travelled to NOIDA to bring in a first-hand account of this unique initiative by social activist Mr Anoop Khanna. Her inimitable style of reporting and interaction with Mr Khanna generated my interest in the program, and in a rare move, I left all work and sat near the radio for the program.

Noida based social activist, Anoop Khanna along with a group of like-minded people have started ‘Dadi ki Rasoi’ with an aim to provide a meal at the lowest possible amount, which is priced at Rs. 5 only. He is feeding nearly 400-500 persons from his stall located in Ganga Shopping Complex, Sector – 17, Noida. Getting quality meal cooked with Desi Ghee comprising of Dal cooked with all vegetables and Basmati rice, is really a delicious fare. His aim is to provide home – cooked quality meal. “We wanted to provide quality food, which gives you a homely feel. We could have attempted to provide the food for free as well but the reason for the price is that it gives dignity to a person who is buying the lunch. As far as the quality of food is concerned, I personally supervise over the preparation. Moreover, since the cost is minimal, anyone can enjoy a meal without worrying about the cost,” Khanna says.

He gives full credit to his team of volunteers and philanthropes who provide him dal, rice, ghee and vegetables on highly subsidised rates willingly and regularly and make a contribution to this unique initiative. People of the area have taken this initiative sportingly and celebrate their special occasions like birthdays and marriage anniversaries and joyfully add to the menu like Paneer – Rice/ Rajma Chawal/ fruits/ cakes/ sweets etc. This way people are very happy eating at Dadi – Ki-Rasoi. This gives him immense satisfaction when he sees happy faces of his visitors. His mother encourages him for this initiative and his children advised him to name it “Dadi-Ki-Rasoi” as proposal came from her.

Not only this, he gives a choice of second-hand clothes for a price of Rs. 10/- to whosoever wants it. People from all over bring dry cleaned and neatly packed clothes to his store from where he dispenses subsidised medicines for needy.

Son of a freedom fighter, 57-year-old Khanna has spent more than Rs 30,000 in setting up the kitchen, which is a one-time investment and the raw material for the lunch costs him around Rs. 2500 a day.

Khanna shares that residents’ support has been encouraging as many have come forward to donate for the initiative. On a regular basis, many residents even sponsor a special meal in case there is a celebration in their house.

“One thing I have realised is that there are people who want to support a cause, given if it actually serves a purpose. So whenever there is a birthday celebration or marriage anniversary, residents come and sponsor a special meal that day.” Khanna says.

Khanna now pledges to continue with the initiative for the rest of his life and is now even encouraging more and more residents in various sectors to set up such stalls in their area.

“It is not so difficult. It only takes a will of a person to start something like this. I have started getting requests from the residents to help them start something like this in their locality as well, so I have asked them to spend some time at my outlet just to have an idea about the functioning and challenges we face,” he adds.

Truly a real-life hero! Don’t miss when you are in the area.

watch Richa Anirudh with Mr Khanna at Dadi-ki-Rasoi.

Maharashtra Tourism and Airbnb celebrate one-year milestone of partnership

Shri Jaykumar Rawal, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism Government of Maharashtra:  “Tourism is not only a source of revenue for the state but is also a key source of growth for local communities.” 

He was speaking on the occasion of the celebration of one-year milestone partnership of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) with Airbnb and the launch of Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme in the state to boost the tourism prospects.

The program aims to drive economic growth in local Maharashtra communities by helping micro-entrepreneurs in hospitality sector grow their business through four key pillars of support- Training, Enabling, Access and Promotion.

The program would be launched first in Elephanta village where MTDC and Airbnb will associate with Gram Panchayat and identify 35 homes and get aligned with Airbnb standards. Hosts of these homes would be the first set of entrepreneurs benefitting from this program.

Shri Jaykumar Rawal, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism Government of Maharashtra, added, “In Airbnb, we have found a global partner whose vision to create skilled micro-entrepreneurs in hospitality and homestay ecosystem to further expand Maharashtra’s tourism potential. We are pleased to expand our partnership with Airbnb with the launch of the Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme, which will help mentor and support budding entrepreneurs in in hospitality sector and build a strong homestay network across key destinations. This is the first-of-its-kind tourism initiative in India where the Government has used the revenue shared by a partner to create a program to benefit various underprivileged communities in the State. With new innovative initiatives like this one, together with Airbnb, we aim to attract a larger global audience and exponentially boost tourism in Maharashtra,”

Commenting on the occasion, Shri. V.K. Gautam, Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Maharashtra, said, “Through the Accelerator Programme, Maharashtra Tourism and Airbnb aim to create a homestay ecosystem in Elephanta and create at least one hospitality micro-entrepreneur in every village across Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Palghar. In year one, we target to create and nurture 1500 tourism and hospitality entrepreneurs. This will motivate tourism and open up new destinations and unique experiences for travellers.”

“Airbnb’s commitment to create 50,000 hospitality micro-entrepreneurs in India. The launch of the Accelerator Programme is a major step towards realizing our commitment and Maharashtra is our lead partner in creating a progressive, sustainable tourism ecosystem in India,” said Mr Chris Lehane, Global Head of Policy and Communications, Airbnb. Lehane added, “Airbnb has always been committed to building a more inclusive tourism sector across the world and no more so than in emerging markets like India. Enabling and empowering all communities, including those that may have not previously benefited from tourism is integral to inclusive tourism. We are therefore excited about the launch of the Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program to mentor budding hospitality micro-entrepreneurs in underserved communities.”

Last year, Brian Chesky, CEO and Co-Founder of Airbnb, in his meeting with the Honourable Prime Minister, had shared, “Through our partnership signed last year, Airbnb and Maharashtra Tourism have worked together to train hundreds of micro-entrepreneurs across key tourism districts.” 

Mr. Amanpreet Bajaj, Country Head, Airbnb India, said: “We’re thrilled to today announce the expansion of this partnership through the Tourism Entrepreneurship Accelerator Programme and continue to play a role in supporting healthy, sustainable tourism in Maharashtra.”

Key elements of the Programme include:

○ Training: Airbnb will create a comprehensive training toolkit which will be used by Maharashtra Tourism to identify quality destinations, homes and entrepreneurs, as well as by Airbnb to train selected entrepreneurs on technology, hospitality, financing, regulations and promotion.

○ Enabling: Airbnb has been sharing a portion of its earnings in Maharashtra with Maharashtra Tourism towards tourism development in the State. Besides, using this fund as the program’s foundation, Maharashtra Tourism will connect trained entrepreneurs with existing government programs for additional funds.

○Access: Airbnb and Maharashtra Tourism will connect selected entrepreneurs with local partners to offer them access to technology, address language barriers and provide mentorship support. Airbnb’s co-hosting model has the potential to help village youths or community-based organizations with smartphones and better language skills become partners to micro-entrepreneurs with quality homes.

○ Promotion: Once entrepreneurs are ready to host travellers, Airbnb will partner with content creators to promote the homes to tourists around the world. Maharashtra Tourism will also use its promotional platforms to support the entrepreneurs.

Maharashtra is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India offering a diverse range of experiences from pristine beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, hill stations, natural caves, waterfalls, to imposing forts, colourful festivals, ancient pilgrimage shrines, museums, and historical monuments. For further details, please visit: http://www.maharashtratourism.gov.in/

Founded in 2008, Airbnb is a global travel community that offers magical end-to-end trips, including where you stay, what you do and the people you meet. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents to become hospitality entrepreneurs.

 

World Environment Day celebrated “Bisleri” Style!

Bisleri Launches a Plastic Recycling initiative “Bottles for Change”

 The initiative aims at educating and changing the behaviour of citizens on efficient disposal and recycling of plastic.

Apart from Bisleri’s mission to ensure access to safe drinking water for every Indian, they also make a conscious effort to keep our environment safe and healthy. It is our endeavour to give back to the environment and the community at large.

This World environment day, Bisleri hosted a press conference to launch “BOTTLES FOR CHANGE”, a Plastic Recycling initiative that focuses on efficient disposal and recycling of plastic. The idea is to create a positive impact on the environment, ensure that it is sustainable and emphasize on the fact that plastic is a versatile material, has an afterlife and can be recycled to make many products like: Furniture (benches, chair), apparels, home decors, accessories and bags etc.

Anjana-Ghosh-Ramesh-Chauhan-Aaditya Thackeray-Ramdas-Kadam

Addressing the audience and media, Mr Aaditya Thackeray, President – Yuva Sena, who has been associated with the cause of #SayNoToPlastic and ban of plastic from our day-today-life, said: There is a need to bring behavioural change in public where we should learn efficient disposal of plastic for the purpose of recycling. Plastic is more harmful to the planet and its people than any other thing, it is important that we pay attention to global warming and reduce the carbon footprint for the green and clean earth. The future needs to be plastic free and in this initiative, Bisleri is playing an instrumental role in bringing up “Bottles for Change”.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Ramdas Kadam, Environment Minister, Govt. of Maharashtra said: Environment is everybody’s responsibility. We need to bring in behavioural change towards treating waste particularly plastic and Bottles for Change by Bisleri is a great initiative by Bisleri.

Mr Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman & MD, Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., launched the initiative by presenting ‘Bottles for Change Kit’ that includes Plastic collection bags, Bottles for change branded Jackets, Caps, posters and other communication material, to the three partnered NGO’s in the initiative.

For this initiative, Bisleri has partnered with 3 NGOs (Parisar Bhagini Vikas Sangh, Sampurna Earth & Garbage Concern Welfare Society) who are associated with the members of “Bottles for Change”  across Mumbai to work towards changing behaviour of the communities in valuing plastic as an effective resource. Users of plastic have to simply crush, clean and keep the plastic separate. The members of “Bottles for Change”  will pick it up at scheduled days and will take it to their segregation centre. Together with the NGO’s, Bisleri is conducting plastic collection and educational drives for communities, corporates, schools, colleges, and other institutions.

Bottles for Change focus to create a system where the members of “Bottles for Change”  pick up plastic from source, segregate it and sell it to the recyclers. The plastic collected & sold is clean and fetches almost 2x more value leading to the upliftment of the lives of members of “Bottles for Change”  and their children.

Highlights of BOTTLES FOR CHANGE initiative:

• The program aims to address the plastic issue in a very strategic manner to spread awareness about plastic being a miraculous material that can be recycled multiple times; thereby bringing a behaviour change amongst individuals, ensuring they clean, segregate and dispose plastic effectively which is then recycled and have a sustainable impact on the environment
• The program helps members of “Bottles for Change” to collect large amounts of clean plastic each time, fetching them with the good income that also helps in leading them to a respectable life and support to educate their children
• 24 wards of Mumbai and parts of Navi Mumbai and Thane will be covered by the members of “Bottles for Change”, ensuring effective execution
• Special collection Vehicles, Collection Bins, Toll-free No., Website and a hygiene kit for members of “Bottles for Change” shall be provided by Bisleri Management

Impact of Bottles for Change Programme:

• 3800 Tonnes of Plastic Recycled
• 3,00,000 Students Reached
• 15,00,000 Citizens Reached
• Lives of 2000+ members of “Bottles for Change” Uplifted
• 100+ Corporates Engaged

Bisleri is the most trusted choice for mineral water for the past 50 years. Bisleri has witnessed this successful growth under the leadership of the visionary chairman and managing director, Mr. Ramesh Chauhan. Bisleri has always felt responsible towards the society and Mother Earth, and hence various activities are initiated on regular basis to help preserve the environment.