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Dehradun: The Jim Corbett National Park, one of India’s most visited wildlife sanctuaries, in Uttarakhand will soon have a circuit and trail named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And guess what? The idea of the trail named after PM Modi came from none other than HBO’s iconic series Game of Thrones (GoT). The idea of the ‘Modi circuit’ was suggested by Uttarakhand’s Minister of Tourism Satpal Maharaj, the Indian Express reported Thursday. The Jim Corbett Park has seven circuits so far – namely Maa Bhagwati, Shiva, Vishnu, Nav-grah, Golju Maharaj, Nagdevta, Hanuman, and Vivekanand circuits. The idea of the GoT-like circuit came when Satpal Maharaj was on a visit to Croatia where he came across a trip where tourists are taken to the locations where the famous TV series was shot. The idea of the circuit was triggered after PM Modi was featured on a special episode of Discovery’s popular show Man Vs Wild with Bear Grylls.
The Uttarakhand Tourism Department is working out a trail that will cover the places visited and activities done by Prime Minister Modi on the survival show which was shot inside the Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand. Senior officials said they have started identifying the places and figuring out arrangements for tourists to visit and stay.
The Additional CEO of the Adventure Sports Division of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Colonel Ashwini Pundir, told Indian Express that a team from the Tourism Department was already working on the project, particularly on where to make arrangements for tourists to stay along a 30-40 km distance. “We want the tourists to have the experience the PM had. We will also put up write-ups at important points to inform you that this is the place where PM Modi did a particular activity,” said Pundir.
The Man Vs Wild episode was aired on August 12, 2019, where Bear Grylls and PM Modi had met at a rendezvous point and proceeded on a series of adventures. They had contrived an improvised spear from a stick in an area of the park said to be dominated by tigers, with the help of a knife and rope. The two had walked alongside the Kosi River and crossed it using a makeshift raft amid rain. PM Modi had also consumed a drink made of neem leaves while talking about his childhood, his youth spent with the Yogis and his time as Gujarat’s Chief Minister.
PM Modi had predicted that in the coming days, the area he visited would emerge as a big tourist attraction for the world. The state tourism department had since been working on the trail project, even connecting the Rudra cave at Kedarnath.
May 2022 photo shows a peacock in the Jim Corbett National Park at Ramnagar in India’s Uttarakhand state. (Photo: AFP)
The state tourism department said that the aim of the project is to attract tourists from neighbouring states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, who can visit over the weekend. “The tourists want something new. Every spot in Uttarakhand is beautiful but we need to add something as a point of attraction and a few activities. With this circuit, we plan to achieve the same,” a department official told Indian Express.
BJP spokesperson Shadab Shams hailed the move, calling PM Modi “the biggest brand in the state”. His name can benefit tourism in the state and should be welcomed, he said.
The Congress noted that the Man vs Wild episode was shot on the day an attack left 40 CRPF personnel dead in Pulwama, Kashmir, and asked if the BJP government planned to celebrate this. “We do not have problem with tourism circuits, but I do not understand what is the major achievement in that episode we are celebrating. When PM Modi was shooting that episode, the Pulwama attack took place… If we are creating a trail of something that happened on a black day, it is not right,” Congress state president Karan Mahara said.
(For story ideas, tips and suggestions, write to himanshu.shekhar@india.com)
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