On the table of Administrator's Advisory Council panel: Proposal to create a signature landmark
The meeting, chaired by H S Lucky, brought together senior officials, cultural experts, and special invitees to deliberate on Miracle Garden strategies that could position Chandigarh as a global tourism hub.
During the meeting, the committee chairman emphasised that while Chandigarh is globally admired for its modernist architecture, green spaces, and planned city design, the city's tourism potential has yet to be fully tapped.
He stressed that Chandigarh needs bold ideas and large-scale projects that can redefine its identity and attract international tourists. 'Organising cultural festivals, carnivals, food festivals, and other public events will not only enrich the city's cultural life but also create employment and strengthen the economy,' he said.
The proposal for a giant landmark similar to the London Eye or Singapore Flyer and a Miracle Garden modelled on Dubai's famed floral attraction drew significant attention during the discussions. Lucky observed that such projects could give Chandigarh a unique identity, offering visitors experiences that blend modernity, nature, and culture. Alongside these ambitious plans, members of the committee highlighted the need to modernise and upgrade existing attractions like Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, and Rose Garden to make them more appealing and visitor-friendly.
The committee also felt that Chandigarh's cultural calendar must expand to include signature events that can draw tourists throughout the year.
Ideas floated in the meeting included a Chandigarh Arts and Crafts Carnival to showcase local artisans, a Food and Heritage Festival celebrating regional cuisines, and a Music and Performing Arts Week featuring both national and international artists. Such initiatives, it was felt, would help create a vibrant cultural atmosphere in the city, offering visitors multiple reasons to return.
Infrastructure development formed another critical part of the deliberations. The committee underscored the need for improved tourist amenities such as better parking facilities, clearly marked pedestrian zones, modern signage, open-air event spaces, and dedicated photo spots. It was also proposed that new promenades, adventure parks, and cycling trails be developed to enhance recreational opportunities and create a more holistic tourism experience.
Heritage preservation was another focus area of the meeting. Lucky remarked that while Chandigarh must preserve its modernist legacy, it must also adapt to evolving design and urban planning trends. He noted that many buildings in the city currently look monotonous, whether they are schools, hospitals, or even five-star hotels. Revising building bylaws, he said, could help infuse variety and freshness into Chandigarh's architectural landscape without compromising its historical character.
The committee also called for greater collaboration with cultural institutions, universities, and international art councils. Such partnerships, they felt, could support artist residencies, heritage restoration projects, and academic exchanges with global art and architecture schools. These measures would allow Chandigarh to strengthen its international cultural linkages while maintaining its distinct identity.
The meeting concluded with a decision to conduct field visits to major tourist spots to assess their present condition and identify opportunities for improvement. Meanwhile, a follow-up meeting is expected to review the findings of these visits and finalise actionable proposals for early implementation.
The committee expressed confidence that with the combined efforts of government authorities, cultural experts, and local communities, Chandigarh could soon emerge as a benchmark city for tourism, culture, and heritage preservation in India.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
10 hours ago
- Business Standard
We are going to become world's no 1 economy by 2047: Sonowal at BS Infra
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said that India is on track to become the world's number one economy by 2047, backed by massive infrastructure expansion and maritime reforms. Speaking at the Business Standard Infrastructure Summit, Sonowal said, 'India will become world's number one economy by 2047. Our target is very clear: by then, the cargo handling capacity of Indian ports will increase to 10,000 million metric tonnes. As a shipbuilding nation, we aim to be among the world's top 10 by 2030 and top five by 2047." Sonowal underlined that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid out a grand vision of making India a "Viksit Bharat", a self-reliant economy worth $30 trillion by the time the country completes 100 years of Independence. 'A decade back, India was lingering at the 11th position in global ranking of economies. Within a short span of time, we have jumped to the fourth position, and very soon, we are going to be the third largest economy of the world,' he said. Massive boost in capital expenditure Highlighting the government's investment push, Sonowal said the Union Budget this year allocated ₹11.21 trillion for capital expenditure, compared to just ₹2 trillion in 2014. 'Our government, under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has embarked on this ambitious journey to revolutionise the country's infrastructure landscape, aiming to bolster economic growth while ensuring environmental balance,' he said. Sonowal criticised the UPA regime, saying no meaningful reforms were made in the maritime sector between 2004 and 2014. 'They sadly had no vision for the maritime sector. They were sea blind. It required the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister to revive the sector and restore its ancient glory,' he said, referring to initiatives such as Maritime India Vision 2030 and Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. The government has scaled up investment in the sector to ₹80 trillion, focusing on port capacity expansion, digitalisation, automation, green hydrogen hubs, coastal tourism, and skill development, he said. Legislative and policy overhaul Sonowal said maritime infrastructure was stuck with outdated colonial-era laws. 'Our nation was saddled with more than 1,500 legislations, many pre-constitutional. Who would have done business with such a nation?' he asked. He added that while only one maritime law was enacted under UPA, the Modi government has brought in 11 new legislations in the past decade. Recently, five landmark laws were passed to align India's maritime framework with global best practices. The Indian Ports Bill 2025 now provides clear provisions for PPP and foreign investment, giving ports greater autonomy. The government has also identified 50 PPP projects worth over ₹60,000 crore to be taken up in coming years, with a target to raise private participation in major ports to 85 per cent by 2030. Major projects and global competitiveness Sonowal said nearly 840 projects worth ₹5.8 trillion are being implemented under the Sagarmala Programme, of which 272 have been completed. The Greenfield port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, with an investment of ₹76,000 crore, will become India's largest port by capacity. Indian ports, he added, are now globally competitive. 'The average container dwell time for India has improved to only three days, compared to four days in UAE, seven in the US, and 10 in Germany. Our turnaround time of 0.9 days is better than advanced maritime nations such as the US, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany and Singapore.' Jobs and growth opportunities Sonowal further said that investments in maritime infrastructure, shipbuilding, and port-led industrialisation will generate millions of jobs in the country. 'Our ports must be seamlessly connected to railways and roadways, and industries meant for global markets should be located close to ports. This integrated approach will boost exports and growth,' he said.
Economic Times
13 hours ago
- Economic Times
Still avoiding PVs in auto and FMCG, negative on IT; hospitality a better play on GST: Dinshaw Irani
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads , CEO,, discusses portfolio adjustments. Focus shifts to EV two-wheeler companies , with a new addition coming soon. He remains cautious on passenger vehicles and negative on IT due to US uncertainty and AI impact. FMCG is avoided due to growth concerns. The hospitality sector is favoured, anticipating increased domestic tourism driven by consumer us start with autos first. We were not comfortable in autos because of the emergence of EVs and we have picked up two EV stocks in the auto space. Basically, two-wheelers are something where we believe the bulk of the hits that EVs could have given are done and dusted. From here on, even the incumbent players who have been in ICE are picking up their game in the EV space and that is why we will see one more new name being added in the two-wheeler space from our side as probably after a very long time we will be holding four two-wheeler players in our portfolio per se. Two of them are pure EV plays and one is Bajaj Auto. The fourth one I cannot disclose because it is not public as yet. But you will see it when my August portfolio comes out so that is what we have been doing and we are very having said that, we are still not getting into PVs. There is a lot of overhang left in PVs. Till now, demand is not that clear anyway. So, we will stay out of that space per se. Even the two-wheelers that we picked up, the ICE guys who are getting into EVs are mainly entry-level two-wheeler plays and they are big beneficiaries of this recent change in GST as and when that said that, we still remain negative on IT. Basically, one big overhang was obviously the way the US was going around, the tariff battles that launched across the globe, the businesses within the US itself are going through a very uncertain phase. So that is an overhang for this particular sector plus the fact that AI we do not know how that is going to pan out for the sector. As of now, IT looks negative. We will obviously take a very studied bet on this and that is why we are avoiding getting into IT right the numbers, I mean upping your guidance by a percent and still remaining in low single digits topline growth I do not see much hope given that the PEs are still at 23-24 times which are way higher than what they were pre-Covid and by the way pre-Covid, the growth rates were much better than what they are even today. That is why it is better to avoid IT this products were taxed at 18% under GST, and I do not think that will change too much. Even if it does, just because my toothpaste is cheaper, it does not mean that I will be brushing my teeth four times a day instead of twice a day or something. So, it is obvious that that segment per se will be mainly driven by growth which today is not looking that great for them and given that the PEs also are at huge premiums, after the recent announcement by the PM, that sector ran up for no reason. We do not see that working out for us. So we avoid FMCG plays we did conclude and very jokingly also that the fact was that if someone is going to save a couple of thousand bucks on his basket of products that he has been ordering, he would rather go in for quick commerce plays and buy some more of the Zeptos and the Zomatos and the Swiggys of the world. So that could be one having said that, if the purse is becoming bigger for discretionary, the domestic plays, not only the consumer discretionary because that is not that great a play in the listed space anyways, apart from ACs which may see a clear reset in terms of GST from 28% to 18%. But even if that does not, anyway ACs are more of a play on the season per se and maybe they will wait out till the summers come the bigger play would be in the hospitality sector. With these kinds of savings, people will look at domestic tourism more. We are playing it through that rather than through actual picking up consumer durable companies. I do not think that is going to work that much. Anyway, they are expensive.
Hindustan Times
19 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Art, culture committee highlights Chandigarh's potential as global tourism hub
Introducing a signature landmark akin to the London Eye or Singapore Flyer and a miracle Garden like in Dubai to create a unique identity for Chandigarh that can draw both domestic and international visitors was one the several suggestions put forward to the members during a high-level meeting of the Art, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage Preservation Committee of the Administrators Advisory Council on Wednesday. The committee also explored the idea of more annual cultural festivals, such as a 'Chandigarh Arts and Crafts Carnival' to showcase local artisans. (HT File) The meeting was chaired by HS Lucky at the UT Secretariat, Sector 9, Chandigarh. Celebrating more annual cultural festivals, development and modernisation of key tourist attractions including Sukhna Lake, the Rock Garden, and Rose Garden were among other ideas that were highlighted during the meeting. The meeting brought together key committee members, special invitees, and experts to discuss strategies for enhancing Chandigarh's cultural, historical, and tourism potential. During the meeting, HS Lucky, chairman of the committee, stressed the urgent need to position Chandigarh as a global tourism destination. He noted that while Chandigarh has a rich cultural heritage and several renowned landmarks, the city's tourism potential remains largely untapped. 'Chandigarh has always been celebrated for its architecture, green spaces, and organised city planning, but we need to leverage these assets to attract tourists from across the globe,' Lucky said. 'Organising cultural festivals, carnivals, food festivals, and other public events will not only enrich the city's cultural life but also boost tourism, create employment opportunities, and strengthen the local economy,' he added. Lucky suggested introducing a signature landmark akin to the London Eye or Singapore Flyer and a miracle Garden like in Dubai to create a unique identity for Chandigarh and draw both domestic and international visitors. The committee also explored the idea of more annual cultural festivals, such as a 'Chandigarh Arts and Crafts Carnival' to showcase local artisans, a 'Food and Heritage Festival' featuring regional cuisine, and a 'Music and Performing Arts Week' inviting national and international artists. Such initiatives, Lucky said, could make Chandigarh a vibrant hub for culture, entertainment, and tourism. In terms of infrastructure, the committee emphasised upgrading tourist amenities around major landmarks, including better parking facilities, well-marked pedestrian zones, improved signage, and dedicated spaces for photo-ops and open-air events. Plans were also proposed for promenades, adventure parks, and cycling trails to enhance recreational opportunities for visitors. The meeting further underscored the importance of collaborations with cultural institutions, universities, and international art councils. Partnerships could include artist residencies, heritage restoration projects, and exchange programmes with global art and architecture schools to maintain Chandigarh's modernist identity while preserving its heritage. Regarding heritage preservation, Lucky emphasised that Chandigarh must evolve to reflect modern design and urban planning trends. He highlighted that many city buildings currently appear similar and outdated, for example a school, a hospital and a five-star hotel all look similar and revising building bylaws could give Chandigarh a fresh, contemporary look without compromising its historical character. Members of the committee shared insights and recommendations regarding ways to enhance Chandigarh's tourism appeal and heritage conservation. Special invitees from the tourism, hospitality, and urban planning sectors contributed ideas on improving infrastructure, accessibility, and visitor experience across the city. The meeting concluded with the decision to conduct field visits to major tourist spots to assess their current status, identify opportunities for improvement, and formulate actionable plans. A follow-up meeting is expected to review these findings and finalise proposals for immediate implementation. The committee expressed confidence that, with the combined efforts of government authorities, local communities, and experts, Chandigarh can emerge as a benchmark city for tourism, culture, and heritage preservation in India. Among those who attended the meeting included Saurabh Arora, director art and culture; Parduman Singh, director tourism; SS Bhatti, former principal architecture college; Shams, senior architect, Manvinder Singh, assistant town planner, Deepti PRO CITCO, Megha Kulkarni, Veena Kumari from Government Art Museum.
