The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Get a taste of rural life at Pochampally

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 06, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Get a taste of rural life at Pochampally

Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD: The Rural Tourism Project taken up by the Tourism Department at Pochampally village is ready for inauguration with all the civil works completed. The project built with an outlay of Rs. 2.5 crores will showcase the life, art, culture and heritage of the area while also helping the local weaver community, according to Tourism Secretary Chitra Ramachandran.

She visited the village and reviewed the progress of works with senior officials of Nalgonda district on Monday.

She said the project would also bring to fore rural products of Pochampally, which is already famous for its silk sarees and other garments. Visitors can get a feel of the rural lifestyle, buy local products and also taste local cuisine. Facilities like museum building, amphitheatre, exhibition halls, a training centre, seminar hall and cafeteria are being provided with ethnic architecture to retain the rural ambience.

Ms. Ramachandran assured that the Vinobha Ashram, adjacent to the rural project, would also be developed as a heritage monument. A tourist information centre had also been set up at the entrance. About 1,000 visitors could be seated to watch different programmes in the amphitheatre. Provision for 11 shops was provided for sale of products made in Pochampalli and the surrounding rural villages.

On the request of the locals, Ms. Ramachandran has agreed to refurbish an old Shiva temple and also produce a documentary film on the production of the world famous Pochampally sarees. There was also a plan to hand over the project to the local people for maintenance.

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