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| September 2016
 
Destination News
  On a quest to make fort Kochi 'differently-abled tourist-friendly spot'
   
  If things go as per plan, Fort Kochi will become Kerala's first 'differently-abled tourist-friendly spot', a step which would attract foreign and domestic tourists into the region in large numbers. The Tourism Department is aiming to make the announcement on December 3 - the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The feasibility study to make Fort Kochi a differently-abled tourist-friendly spot began the other day. The study is conducted by the technical department of the National Service Scheme (NSS), which comprises of students from NSS units of engineering colleges in the state. Simon George, chairman of Prathyasha Foundation, a public charitable organization for uplifting differently-abled to the forefront of the society, is the brain behind the project.

  Tourism with a twist: Taste a prison for a price
The first-of-a-kind trend fast catching on in Telangana
   
  You need not break a law and get caught by police to taste a life of a prisoner for a day in this prison in India. Instead you can experience behind-the-bars experience for a paltry sum of Rs 500, which equates to roughly 7 Euros.

This offer comes from a colonial-era jail here in Medak district of Telangana, a southern state in India. Tourists can now get a firsthand experience of prison life, albeit for a day.

The 220-year-old District Central Jail at Sangareddy, which has now been converted into a museum, offers a 24-hour confinement under an innovative initiative called ‘Feel the Jail’ launched by the Prisons department for people with a taste for the offbeat and want to experience detention.

During the stay, ‘inmates’ will be provided with a prison uniform, made of khadi, a steel meal plate and a glass, a mug, a bathing soap, bedding and other facilities as per state prison manual, besides a fan.
A prior intimation would be needed to avail this offer so that jail authorities can make necessary arrangements for the visiting inmates.

  The Pratapeshwar Temple at Khajuraho set to open for tourism
   
  One of the most mysterious properties of Khajuraho — Pratapeshwar Temple — will soon be opened for tourism. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has been maintaining other temples in Western Complex, will take over the temple for protection.

“The temple is closed since 1956 as per the States Reorganisation Act, where all heritage properties were considered to be princely by either the state or the central government. Due to some reasons, the state archeology department was unable to take care of the property and therefore it was sealed,” said a senior archaeology officer.

The temple manages to attract a lot of attention by tourists. “The temple is in the same complex which has Vishwanath Temple, Devi Mandap, Lakshman Temple, Kandariya Mahadev and Devi Jagdambi Temple. Though the Pratapeshwar Temple is closed, we introduce it to the tourists and narrate its importance in Khajuraho. They can view it from outside,” said Prayas Badkul, an owner of a tourist guide organisation in Khajuraho.

“The Pratapeshwar Temple was built by Raja Pratap Singh as a memorial of himself, to immortalise his name. Kings back then, used to build monuments on their names to glorify themselves and to be at par with the God. The temple is an interesting conglomeration of three Hinduistic cultural architecture techniques. It has a Rajputana dome in the front, a pagoda style of ceiling in the middle and then a typical brahminical Shikhara (summit) at the back. It is the only temple that represents the 18th century contemporary carving and structure,” said Sudesh Tamrakar, a senior tourist guide in Khajuraho.

On being asked what is inside the temple, Tamrakar said: “It is said that it has a ‘shivling’ made of black stone. Usually, kings after creating such monuments on their names, used to establish some sort of mythological statue for the sake of its protection.”

“Pratapeshwar temple, like other temples in Khajuraho, also belongs to the ‘non-living’ temple category as there are no traces of worshipping inside the temple by locales. It is still indefinite to say how much of the temple will be opened because once ASI starts working on a site, several historical facets of that particular property are unfolded. Since the temple was closed for so many years, it becomes difficult to comment,” said Zulfiqar Ali, superintending archaeologist, Bhopal.


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