negative impact of khajuraho festival
Answers
Explanation:
India is famous for its great ethnicity and diversity among the cultures and these two main elements reflect in the level of tourism development in any region of the country. Apparently this has led the government and other respective authorities of tourism to call out the importance of heritage tourism in this 21st century. This report is based on the issues and impacts of tourism in Khajuraho, a UNESCO listed world heritage site, famous for its exotic sculptured temples.
Negative economic impact
The level of tourism has made some negative impacts on the local economy to a certain level, especially the development programs by the government which brought many outsiders into the village economy. Instead of using natural resources, things are being imported from outside by the migrants. Most of the imported goods are manipulated as local artwork work and being sold to tourists which is a leakage in the integration of locals and the government systems (Menon, 1993). Moreover, inflation has increased due to the less supply for the high demand for local items caused by the tourism development program. According to Menon, (1993, p.37) “a local guide explains that 20 years ago people were friendlier and close together: tourism, he said, has made the people money-minded”.
Positive Environmental impact
The wild shrouded temples are titivated by the government by the level of tourism in Khajuraho. According to UNESCO, (2005) the place is now equipped with complete infrastructure including transportation, electricity, water supply, hotels, hospitals. The temples are now protected by the Indian Central Government with the help of archeological and tourism departments to preserve the Indian heritage, as they are wall protected by the security systems in order to avoid intruders and vandalisms. Now the temples are surrounded by gardens that are not true, a part of original temple designs, to enhance the beauty of temple premises. Apart from that, a central museum is located in the village to keep the valuable broken parts from the temples and showcase case the ancient artwork to the visitors and the excavation areas are restricted for the public. One can clearly see that the old sleepy image of Khajuraho is completely changed by the changes that happened in the environment due to tourism (Menon, 1993).
Negative Environmental impact
Due to the characteristics of the destination, Khajuraho poses a very less detrimental effect on the physical environment as the tourists who visit are particular nature of sightseer activity and their primary intention is just to see the sculptures in the temples (Menon, 1993). Thus the rate of losing the natural resources will be very less in the region comparing some other tourist destinations, however, the mass amount of tourist flow into Khajuraho must have changed the environment negatively due to the air pollution and solid wastes disposal. Moreover the destruction of unique flora and fauna in the area, due to the excavation work happening nearby the temples reduced the wildlife in the surrounding region. The other considerable negative impacts are the air pollution caused by aircraft flying. A study conducted by the Indian central archaeological department found out that aircrafts flying over the temples produce a certain level of vibrations which could damage ancient monuments(Archaeological Survey of India, n.d) According to a monthly social awareness magazine (Khajuraho Special, 2004) land pollution and air pollution are some of the major environmental issues in Khajuraho faced by tourism. None of the hotels in Khajuraho have a proper waste management system or recycling system which persuades them to litter openly and so do the tourists, especially the canned foods and other disposable items. In the same way, an increasing number in tourism has caused the same number of vehicles for transportation which pollutes the air by emitting dangerous gases and causing to change the atmospheric temperature. The final thought is about the shrinking of water bodies in the area, where improper land usage reduced the natural water resources drastically.
Positive socio-cultural impact
The lifestyle in Khajuraho is being affected by tourism activities as a natural consequence of socio-cultural impact. People have been more aware of the tourism needs and other cultures, to mingle with other nationalities flawlessly. The dance festivals and other cultural activities unite the local community and also portray the true image of Khajuraho to tourists. It has been proved that there hasn’t been any complaint of sexual harassment or prostitution, which shows that the local community is more responsive to social norms (Menon, 1993) and some of the local people have managed to make marriage relationships with foreigners. After all, some of the local community still indulge in their daily prayers and go to the temples for worshiping which point towards the conscientious tourism in the area.
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