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LONGEST CAVE
SYSTEM DISCOVERED
The Longest cave system, (over 22.2 km long), in the Indian sub-continent
has been discovered in Meghalaya's Jaintia Hills by an international
team of speleologists Between 7 February and 1 March the team explored
39caves, mapped and photographed them only to discover 15,498 meters
of new cave passages. The linking of the Krem Um Im - liat Prah cave
system with Tokrem Labbit (Khaidong) creates a single cave system,
the longest in the Indian sub-continent.
NEW THEME PARKS AROUND DELHI
Two
new theme parks in association with Turner Entertainment will be set
up near Delhi by end October. Instead of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck
(Disneyland) visitors will get a chance to meet Tom and Jerry, the
cat and mouse team. The Parks named Planet POGO and Cartoon Network
Townsville will be located in west Delhi and Noida (a suburb). The
parks will focus on popular toon characters and shows.
HOLLYWOOD STARS TO FILM IN INDIA
Famous Hollywood stars will be shoot movies in India, Michael Douglas
will be shooting for "Romancing the Stone" with Ashwariya
Rai in Bombay and Rajasthan. Morgan Freeman will be in Rishikesh -
Haridwar to shoot "Moses Tate's War", a film aptly about
saving cows. Sylvester Stallone will face the camera for "Rambo
IV" in Jammu and Leh in Ladakh. Johnny Depp will be shooting
for "Shantaram" in November in Bombay and Havelock Island
in the Andamans. So 2006 could well be the year of Hollywood in India.
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TATA PLANTATION
TRAILS
Tata Coffee the largest coffee plantation company in Asia has entered
the hospitality sector with the launch of Plantation Trails. This
cluster of Holiday Homes in the coffee growing Coorg district of Karnataka
are located in coffee estates of the company which were occupied by
the planters of Tata Coffee earlier. This will provide visitors an
opportunity to experience a plantation lifestyle. The launch begins
with a cluster of 3 bungalows (five bedrooms each) and 2 cottages
in and around the town ship of Pollibetta. By the end of the year
it will go up to 12 bungalows with 28 rooms.
IKAT OF ANDHRA GETS A PATENT
The Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society of Pochampally in Andhra
Pradesh has won a patent for weaving of their "ikat" (tie
and dye method) under the Intellectual Property rights in the Geographical
Indication category like Champagne, Darjeeling tea etc. The Pochamgally
sarees woven by them in Pochampally or any of the 40 villages in the
Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh will now carry a logo vouching
for the authenticity of the ikat weave.
INTACH TO PROMOTE HERITAGE TOURISM
INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) intends
to promote the concept of a heritage tourism cruise along the Ganges
with the restoration of old sites built by the Europeans which will
help resurrect their past colonial glory. The Oxford Book store in
association with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural
Heritage) had a screening of "Europe on the Ganges". This
documentary traced the history of European nations that
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set up their bases
along the banks of the Hoogly in West Bengal over 500 years ago. The
screening of the documentary was followed by a photo exhibition of
the heritage sites from Calcutta to Allahabad like Serampore, Barrackpore,
Chandranagore, Chinsurah and Bandel.
SHEKHAWATI FESTIVAL HELD
The towns of Shekawati like Nawalgarh, Sikar and Churu got together
to celebrate the annual Shekhawati festival 17-11 February. Visitors
got a chance to see the traditional Havelis, the colourful dances
and music, the local sports and of course taste the delicious Marwari
cuisine. The inaugural ceremony was held in the middle of the sand
dunes with guests arriving in camel carts and the place was lit up
with traditional mishals (torches).
WORLDHOTELS PARTNERS AMADEUS
Worldhotels, a leading global hotel group for independent and regional
hotel brands has formed a partnership with Amadeus to target the rapidly
enlarging Indian travel market. The group which has a portfolio of
nearly 500 hotels in 70 countries across the globe brought a roadshow
to Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore. Worldhotels announced an incentive
program "sell the world of hotels" for travel agents offering
prizes including all inclusive trips to Bali for those selling the
most between March to May 2006.
BADRINATH AND KEDARNATH SHRINES TO OPEN 4 MAY
The Himalayan Shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath in Uttaranchal will
re-open on 4 May to devotees and pilgrims. The holy shrines close
during winter due to extreme weather conditions. |
