MP Tourism grabs its place in the sun

Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

Ashwani Lohani Managing director, MP Tourism

The award-winning Shan-e-Bhopal restaurant, owned and run by Madhya Pradesh (MP) Tourism in Bhopal, exudes nostalgia. The country's first broad gauge rail coach restaurant is a finely detailed eatery which evokes the aura of leisurely journeys across an ancient land, complete with special effects like the calls of rambunctious vendors, train whistles, flag-waving guards and blinking signals.

Located on the lawns of Hotel Lake View Ashok, wait staff dressed as porters serve guests eloquently-named dishes like Murgh Rihana Deccan Queen and Kohe Daltonganj and the aroma of barbequed delights emanates from a little 'station master's cabin' close by. Another stellar restaurant, also conceptualised and run by MP Tourism, is the Wind and Waves cantilevered over Bhopal's tranquil lake. Post dinner, one can go on a romantic cruise in a non-polluting eco-friendly catamaran-hull style cruise boat Lake Princess, embarking from the recently re-jigged Boat Club and marina nearby. Adrift on the molten silver lake under a starry sky, sip beer and munch on vegetable pakodas or something more elaborate. In the day, the lake heaves with paddle boats, sail boats and jet skiers who leave white pillars of water in their wake. All this is courtesy MP Tourism.

Indeed, our recent visit to Madhya Pradesh was an eye opener. A state traditionally cursed with poor tourism infrastructure - including bone-rattling bad roads - is be-stirring itself to grab its place in the sun. We drove down smooth country roads flanked by lush wheat fields and yellow mustard fields which were relatively traffic free. In a country where roads are rarely signposted, there was adequate signage on the way to World Heritage sites like Bhimbetka, famed for its rock paintings and the Buddhist centre of Sanchi. And these tourism destinations were spotless, devoid of hawkers, touts and guides, pleading and heckling one to buy their products or services.

Homing in

We stopped at spotless MP Tourism-run highway retreats to stretch our legs and stayed in MP Tourism-run hotels. In Bhopal, our temporary home was the recently-refurbished three-star Palash Residency which has all the mod cons. In Sanchi we spent a night at the picturesque and comfortable Gateway Retreat. In Pachmarhi, MP Tourism runs a spectrum of hotels located in colonial heritage bungalows outside which flare embroidered lawns and within, one can relax in thoughtfully-done interiors which include television, heaters, a mini fridge and spacious, immaculate en suite bathrooms. Even in the state's other tourist highlights like Orchha, Mandu and Khajuraho one has the option of clean, comfortable value-for-money accommodation like hotels rather than frayed tourism lodges, complete with laundries, conference facilities and state-of-the art kitchens.

All these cataclysmic changes have happened by design rather than accident with the multiple agencies involved in enhancing a tourist's stay coming together seamlessly. Madhya Pradesh, it would seem, is ready for business, and that has a lot to do with one man - Ashwani Lohani, managing director of MP Tourism - who has successfully steered and turned around this lumbering organisation and made it the only tourism body in the country with an ISO certification.

Indeed Madhya Pradesh has for the first time bagged the national tourism award 2007-08 for its outstanding performance in the tourism sector among all states and Union Territories. Every single unit of the corporation is profitable and the three-star classification awarded to six MPTDC properties and ISO certification to its four properties including the headquarters are also monumental achievements.

We meet Lohani in his office located in the swanky new glass-sheathed headquarters in Bhopal which hum with energy and purpose. Gone are the plastic chairs, the labyrinthine layout, paan-stained corridors, chipped paint and bored looking factotums and hangers-on, the hallmarks of most government offices in the country. Instead, we cross the lobby where an attractive floral arrangement is as much the focus as a smartly-dressed receptionist, peep into a room where young people work behind a bank of computers (we were later told that the MD is aggressive about computerisation which will be completed by the middle of this year) and go up a flight of stairs to the MD's spacious room with a view.

Time for turnaround

With a touch of pride, 49-year-old Lohani tells us that he wiped out MP Tourism's losses, accumulated over 25 years, in the space of three, while over a period of two and a half years, 79 hotels, wayside amenities and offices have been re-furbished.

This man in a hurry has a hands-on approach to getting results, revealed a manager of one of the MP Tourism hotels, who says that Lohani leads from the front even while he nurtures and looks after staff welfare. "When he took over, he said that his target was an annual turnover of Rs 33 crore. The senior managers and staff privately laughed at his audacious dream because many, many years ago, the beleaguered tourism body had managed with great difficulty a turnover of just Rs 9 crore," related the manager. "You give me what I want and I will give you what you want," Lohani roared at a staff meeting, and thanks to his inspirational leadership, the tourism body fell just a little short of what was then an almost-impossible target.

He is equally keen that all his innovative ideas are implemented and pronto! And as he speaks - quickly and lucidly - one can see that the creative fires continue to rage as he reveals more projects that are in the pipeline or have just come on stream. MP is the first state in the country to have an audio guide for Bhopal which can be accessed on one's mobile phone by dialling 91 999 333 0003 and then punching in the site code number. You then have information on, say, the recently-restored Gohar Mahal or the majestic Taj ul Masjid or the new state museum with its cutting-edge decor.

Lohani has plans to introduce more recreational activities and adventure sports that enhance the intrinsic value of a destination such as rafting safaris in Pench National Park, paragliding in Pachmarhi (the latter is already in place), food courts in Bhopal, houseboats on Tawa river, swimming pools at the MP Tourism properties in Sanchi, Orchha and Shivpuri, a tented resort near Bhimbetka, swank sight-seeing buses. Indeed, smooth Volvo services are already in place between Bhopal and Indore and there are plans to introduce more in other sectors.