Abandoned for over two centuries now, the “spooky” village of Kuldhara, which is 15 km west of Jaisalmer, will soon be brought back to life.
Abandoned for over two centuries now, the “spooky” village of Kuldhara, which is 15 km west of Jaisalmer, will soon be brought back to life. In anticipation of a major tourism boost, the Rajasthan government has decided to give a new lease of life to the village where skeletons of the sad past stand erect. The mud houses and crumbled ruined walls — which are touted to be cursed with spirits — will be developed into a tourist attraction as part of the government’s move to boost the tourism sector.
Known for its historical monuments, lavish forts and palaces, Rajasthan, the land of kings, is in a makeover stage, with the government deciding to “repackage” the tourism sector by investing more to its beauty and glory to attract more tourists. The department recently signed 56 MoUs worth Rs 600 cores for investment by the private sector. As part of its efforts, the government has taken a lead in reviving the “ghost” village Kuldhara, which was the largest in the community. Established in 1291 by the Paliwal Brahmins, the villagers vanished one night in 1825, leaving behind stories of ghosts and broken remnants.
“The Rajasthan tourism department has decided to conserve the village using the same raw material as used earlier. The restoration work is going on and once the work is done, the village will be open to public,” said Shailendra Agrawal, principal secretary, tourism, on the sidelines of a four-day Rajasthan Festival aimed at highlighting the tradition, culture and heritage of the state. The festival had events, including performances by artists like Arijit Singh, Salim-Sulaiman, Bhanwari Devi, International Festival of Short Films on Culture and Tourism, Army pageant, camel tattoo show, dog show, Run for Rajasthan, Bhartiya Kushti, qawwali, bhajans held across the Pink City. “After heritage tourism, we are trying to promote rural and adventure tourism. We have the largest water bodies. We want to focus on eco-tourism and these new efforts are being taken in that direction only,” added Mr Agrawal.
Toruism in Rajasthan contributes 14 per cent to the GDP of Rajasthan. To give fillip to the sector, the government is also planning to open some havelis in Shekhawati for tourists. These havelis have been lying closed for many years.
Realising that the tourism sector in Rajasthan has a huge potential to grow, the government has also recently launched a new tourism campaign. “We wanted to break away from the the tradition which is forts. We have already succeded with that, The new campaign is to tell the tourists that Rajasthan has much more than the forts,” Mr Agrawal further said.
