Chhattisgarh is rich in natural beauty, local arts and historic ruins dating back to the ancient ages. Apart from natural beauty, the depth and beauty of Chhattisgarh’s tribal culture is widely popular among tourists. With an objective of taking tribal tourism to the next level, the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board has launched the “Tribal Tourism Circuit”, a new initiative. The Tribal Tourism Circuit is part of the Centre’s “Swadesh Darshan Scheme”, which aims at assisting the growth of tourism across India. The scheme has been allocated a budget of Rs 99.94 crore for developing the circuit to showcase traditional tribal culture and ethnicity to tourists visiting the state.
The foundation stone for development of the circuit was laid at Chitrakote, Bastar, on 21 February 2017 by Chief Minister Raman Singh. The Tribal Tourism Circuit comprises tribal dominated areas, namely, Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Ambikapur, Maheshpur, Ratanpur, Kurdhar, Sarodhadhar, Gangrel, Nathiya Navagaon, Kondagaon, Jagdalpur, Chithrakot and Thirathgarh. In a bid to attract more tourists, the circuit focuses mainly on two projects—Ethnic Tourist Village and Eco Ethnic Tourist Destination Development. The places chosen for developing Ethnic Tourist Villages include Jashpur, Ambikapur and Sarodhadhar and the places that fall under the Eco-Ethnic Tourism project include Mainpat, Kurdar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot and Thirthgarh. The circuit will provide a holistic experience to tourists so that they can appreciate the tribal way of life and the vast cultural difference among the tribes.
The Centre has allocated Rs 45 crore for the first phase of this project. The contruction process has already been started at various places and the entire project will be completed in phases over a span of two years. The construction of Eco Log Huts and a wooden restaurant has already been completed at Gangrel. The development of such a tribal tourism product will provide tourists with unique and rich experience which they will cherish forever.
Welfare of tribals
Chief Minister Raman Singh had unveiled an ambitious 11-point programme for integrated development of “Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) in December 2015. As per the programme, the Chief Minister had said that seven PVTGs, comprising Kamar, Baiga, PahadiKorwa, BirhorAbujmariah and Pando Bhunjia tribes with a total population of 1.94 lakh, have been identified for covering under the programme.
Singh had said that 44,331 families belonging to these tribal communities, residing in 2017 villages, would be benefited from this 11-point programme. The project aims at providing houses to the homeless, making available safe drinking water and electricity in all habitats and health check-up of the entire population to be covered.
The programme envisages providing health cards, ration cards, and “smart cards” to all families, providing nutrition to all infants and lactating mothers, skill development of one member of each family, providing of forests rights, caste and residential certificates and coverage under all social security schemes such as the Atal Pension Scheme and the Pradhanmantri Jan DhanYojana, Pradhanmantri Jeevan Jyoti BeemaYojana, Pradhanmantri Mudra Yojana and others. Chief Minister Raman Singh had announced that all families to be covered under the programme would be supplied radios, umbrellas and blankets. The 11 -point programme is being implemented in mission mode to ensure that tribals get opportunities to enjoy the fruits of development. The tribals in Chhattisgarh are very hard working, exhibiting their energy in mines and factories. They are also very creative and excel in making traditional handicraft. Due to the presence of many tribes in Chhattisgarh, there are varying cultures, rituals, customs and traditional beliefs. Some of the major tribes of Chhattisgarh are the Gond tribe, Korba, Baiga tribe, Bison Horn Maria tribe, Abhuj Maria, Muria tribe, Halba tribe, Bhatra and Dhurvaa tribes.