Heritage Village Pragpur
Indians live largely in villages where this country’s
Heritage, Culture Environment and Ambience are still
alive. Therefore to enjoy India, tourists should be
encouraged to go to Indian Villages. This in effect
means Rural/Village Tourism should be encouraged. If
this is done not only employment and economic growth
will come to our villages but it will become a tool for
the creation of wealth and reduce the exodus to towns
and cities..
Important aspects for promotion of Rural Tourism are:
- Infrastructure
- Accessibility
- Telephones
- Banking
- Medical Facilities
- Electricity
- Security
- Environment
- Cleanliness, and last but not the least
- Involvement of villagers
It is our experience that if the village population
realizes the benefits that could accrue from Rural
Tourism then with the development of tourism the
infrastructure as above will surely fall into place. An
example of how Rural Tourism can change the attitude of
the village is Pragpur, a small hamlet in the Kangra
Valley of Himachal Pradesh. Until tourism took root it
was not even mentioned on the road maps of the District.
Pragpur was founded about 350 years ago and is
located at an elevation of 2000 feet. This gives it
moderate climate throughout the year. It is 60 K.Ms.
from Dharamsala beyond which His Holiness the Dalai Lama
lives at Mcleodganj ie.his home in exile.
The occupation of Pragpurians was shop keeping, a
small wholesale trade, and marginal
agriculture/horticulture. The area is entirely dependent
on rain and no one has large land holdings. However its
situation is ideal to explore the Kangra Valley and it
lies on the shortest route by road from Chandigarh to
Dharamsala.
Whilst Pragpur has good schools and nearby colleges,
it offers little possibility for suitable occupation for
able and educated young people. They therefore migrate
to larger cities for livelihood leaving behind at
Pragpur aged and retired parents or small children.
Vijai Lal, an entrepreneur based at Delhi has roots
at Pragpur where his family has been since the village
was founded about 350 years ago. He and his wife Rani
decided to restore their ancestral property and convert
into a Heritage Hotel with the hope that it would
attract enough custom to keep it open. However as time
went by tourists realized the special medieval ambience
of the village which has beautiful mansions, Italianate
villas, dressed cobbled stone streets, mud plastered and
slate roofed houses. It's neighboring villages like
Garli,Rakkar and Pir Siluie also have lovely but
crumbling villas and mansions.
Rani and Vijai Lal felt that if they could develop
Tourism at Pragpur and interest the local population in
serving the Tourism Industry then considerable benefit
would accrue to the village. It would also provides
employment to the village educated youth and thus in a
small way help in reducing exodus to cities.
With the help of the State Government the core of
Pragpur was notified as Heritage Village. To involve the
local people, the support of the Panchayat was enlisted
and with the help of the Panchayat and the blessings of
the local Government a Heritage Committee was founded.
The State Government assisted it with small grants to
improve and preserve the village. The Heritage status
enabled the Village to attract attention and garner some
funds for development of tourist related facilities.
With the help of small grants and the involvement of the
villagers in the Heritage Committee small basic
improvements began to take shape eg.
- Improvement in the augmentation of the
drinking water system
- Repairs to the dressed cobbled stone streets
- Uplifting and improving the façade of buildings
- Installation of solar street lights etc. etc
- Benches at strategic important places
- Garbage collection bins.
Local crafts were also encouraged and tourists began
to purchase local handicrafts thus giving employment to
people. Some also got training, others obtained licenses
to become tourist guides, taxi facilities increased from
4 to 15.
Appreciating the local village efforts:
- the PWD improved the approach roads
- the Telephone Department installed a new model
telephone exchange
- the Internet has come to the village
- the local Government hospital has been upgraded
and a private
Charity fund
founded by a Pragpurian family has this month donated a
large sum of money to repair and upgrade
the buildings
- instead of one Bank village now boasts of 3
Banks
- the stocks in the local village shops have
increased in variety and
improved in quality
- villagers donated land and a new 33 KV Sub
Station has been built
- likewise villagers donated land and PWD Rest
House and a Block
Development Office were constructed.
- to encourage the people in their efforts the
Government of India,
Department ofTourism has sanctioned a
project costing Rs. 25 Lakhs
for the construction of a Crafts Museum.
- The State Government has sanctioned an exemplary
Panchayat Ghar
and Gramin Dukan for sale of crafts
products.
In the initial phase the village took the assistance
of the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) for
guidance on its preservation. Now, however Intach has
consented to guide the village and a unique Memorandum
of Understanding has been signed between:
- Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)
- Government of Himachal Pradesh
- Heritage Village Pragpur to
develop Pragpur as an exemplary place for
Village Tourism.
The village now boasts of not only of one Heritage
Hotel i.e. “The Judge’s Court” but three more
facilities: -
- Kamal Guest House - a
four room facility
- Megha’s Heritage Inn - a two
room facility
- Nearby on the banks of the River Beas a new
facility with about 10
rooms
Environment is an important aspect. With the benefits
of tourism reaching the people at the grassroots level
these tend to create there own pressure groups. This has
happened in Pragpur. Some local shop keepers, crafts
people, guides, taxi drivers and guest house owners with
the help of the Panchayat have taken steps to protect
their environment. The village looks cleaner, within 4
years the landscape is more lush and green, and emphasis
is on protection of wildlife. A National Wetland, Pong
Dam starts 8 K.Ms. from Pragpur.
Villagers have on their own have begun to plant
special flowering shrubs and with each passing year
these will increase in numbers. In course of time these
shrubs will create their own unique signature for
Heritage Village Pragpur.
The Government of Himachal Pradesh has been
responsible to provide the basic ingredients and has
acted as a catalyst to give impetus to Village Tourism
and the District Administration has understood the
concept and is more than sympathetic to the cause of
promoting Rural Tourism.
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