Imagine a street in Bengaluru, which will be a no-traffic zone, and will be open to people to draw, paint, dance, sing and do what they like. This is what the State’s Tourism Department has set out to achieve.
Two rounds of meetings have been held and a third one is due during the first week of June, said Minister for Higher Education and Tourism R.V. Deshpande. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of announcing the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Travel Mart in Bengaluru on Tuesday, he said the ambitious concept, inspired by the “open streets” abroad, would first be implemented in the city.
Also on the anvil is a ‘Dilli Haat’-like place, a permanent space to showcase the State’s arts and crafts. “Though there is a Bangalore Haat (at the Swami Vivekananda Metro Station), it is a small one. We are looking for something vast and have written to all the deputy commissioners – Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Ramanagaram, seeking land,” said G. Satyavathi, Director of Tourism.
“Bengaluru is known as the IT city and silicon city, but is yet to catch up as a tourist destination. We are working on it,” Mr. Deshpande added.
