Tourist flow at Virasat-e-Khalsa up

Arun Sharma

Tribune News Service

Anandpur Sahib, May 9

Virasat-e-Khalsa, a museum of the Sikhs, has boosted the economy of the town. The first phase of the museum was thrown open to the public on November 25, 2011, and ever since the SGPC’’s revenue from shops has increased by five times, bank deposits have doubled and offerings at Takht Keshgarh Sahib have gone up to Rs 60 crore.

Director, Tourism, Shivdular Singh Dhillon said 8.8 million people had already visited the museum. At times, the number crossed the 25,000 mark, he added. The entry at that time was from 8 am to 8 pm and now the museum remains open from 10 am to 4.30 pm. As many as 1.5 lakh people visit the place every month.

The museum has provided employment to 300 persons, boosting the hotel business. To pocket profit, a local has shut down his old school building to set up a hotel. A jeweller too followed suit. The town that once had only one dhaba has 12 eateries now.

Earlier, the SGPC used to auction sites for setting up hundreds of temporary shops during the festive season, which used to fetch it Rs 75 lakh annually. But with 5,000 visitors coming every day, shops remain open throughout the year, taking up the revenue to Rs 4 crore.

Similarly, the offerings at Takht Keshgarh Sahib recorded a significant increase. Last year, the amount was Rs 25 crore and this year, it was Rs 60 crore. After the museum came up, banks such as HDFC, Axis, UCO, Allahabad and Yes have opened more branches. While the total deposit in bank branches in the town stood at Rs 377.39 crore on March 31, 2012, the amount jumped to Rs 712.15 crore on March 31, 2018.

Harjeet Singh Jeeta, president of the municipal council, said the road network in the area was being strengthened, which would in turn increase the tourist footfall.

300 youths employed

• The first phase of the museum was thrown open to the public on November 25, 2011.
• As many as 8.8 million people have so far visited the place.
• The museum has provided employment to 300 persons, besides boosting the hotel business in Anandpur Sahib. 

from The Tribune https://ift.tt/2K7tZBu