Chandigarh, September 29: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said Morni-Tikkar Taal will emerge as a key tourist destination and mark its own identity on the country's tourism map. He said water sports activities have been started in Tikkar Taal lake, which falls in the Morni hills, over 45 kilometres from here, in Panchkula district.

The chief minister said all necessary arrangements would be made to promote tourism activities in Morni Tikkar Taal. Khattar said the facility of paragliding in Tikkar Taal would be started soon.

He said an agreement has been signed with a company for organising hot air balloon activity in Pinjore, about 25 kilometres from here, which will also start soon. He said there are plans to start water sports activities at many other places in the state. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Launches Various Activities to Boost Tourism in State, Aims To Make Panchkula New Tourist Hub.

Water sports activities can also be started in Brahma Sarovar, Kurukshetra, Karna lake in Karnal, Damdama lake, Tiliyar lake etc, he said. Khattar was speaking after inaugurating various adventure sports such as parasailing, paramotoring and water jet scooter in Tikkar Taal, Morni Hills under a plan on development of adventure sports activities to promote tourism in Haryana.

Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, former Union minister Rattan Lal Kataria, Chairman, Haryana Tourism Corporation, Randhir Singh Gollen, were also present on the occasion. The chief minister said under the scheme to increase employment opportunities for people in the Morni-Tikkar Taal area, homestays are being promoted. Besides this, plans have been made to promote farm tourism in this area, he added. Khattar said there is ample scope to promote tourism in Haryana.

“So far, the share of tourism in the GDP of the state is only 0.3 per cent. The Haryana government is making continuous efforts to increase this. The tourism department is also likely to work on public-private partnership (PPP) mode to recover some prime locations from losses,” he said.

Khattar also released a brochure of revamped farm tourism policy in Haryana, wherein more exciting farms have been added to the list. He said now tourists can choose from a range of farm houses to enjoy weekends and holidays with friends and families. It will also help in providing livelihood opportunities to local farm owners and villagers, he said.

Khattar recalled his old memories with Tikkar Taal and Morni and said, "In the year 1990, I used to visit here for party work and once I had also got an opportunity of celebrating my birthday at a school in Mandhana village. “At that time I felt that this area had remained neglected so we planned to develop this area in terms of road connectivity, education, health services and tourism.”. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar Reviews Developmental Works at Karnal, Directs Officials To Expedite Construction Work at Various Sites.

He said developing Morni was a key feature of the integrated Panchkula development plan and, therefore, on June 20, he visited the place for an inspection of water and aero sports events. On promoting homestays, he said the home owners residing locally can now offer their accommodation to tourists and visitors at reasonable prices under the state's homestay policy.

The scheme will provide a plethora of accommodation options at various locations and at competitive prices. Tourists who are willing to stay for long periods will also benefit from this scheme, he said. Earlier, Khattar also laid the foundation stone of Tourist Facilitation Centre in Panchkula.

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