Explore Business Standard
Onam
Kerala Tourism will make all efforts to market Onam celebrations as a tourism product globally by formulating innovative campaigns, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said on Thursday. He was speaking after inaugurating a function held here for distribution of prizes of various contests relating to the cultural pageantry and global Onam 'pookalam' conducted by the Tourism Department as part of the week-long Onam celebrations organised by the Kerala Government. "A symbol of resilience, hope and equality, Onam has become a significant product that can attract domestic and foreign tourists. With the formation of tourism clubs in some foreign cities including London, the Tourism department has already initiated efforts to market the next year's Onam globally. By prominently projecting the unique features of various destinations, we will be able to ensure greater flow of tourists to the state from across the world during the Onam season," the Minister said. Presiding over the function,
An auto-rickshaw driver, who was planning to go to Malaysia to work as a chef, on Sunday won the Rs 25 crore Onam bumper lottery in Kerala, just a day after his application for a loan of Rs 3 lakh was approved. Even more interesting is that Anoop, hailing from Sreevaraham here, bought the winning ticket -- TJ 750605 -- on Saturday. But it was not his first choice, he told media persons who were present at the agency where he had bought the ticket. He did not like the first ticket he chose, so he opted for a different one which turned out to be a winner, he said. Regarding the loan and his Malaysia trip, an ecstatic Anoop said, "The bank called today regarding the loan and I said I don't need it anymore. I will not be going to Malaysia either." He has been buying lottery tickets for the last 22 years and has won amounts ranging from a few hundreds to a maximum of Rs 5,000 in the past, Anoop said. "I was not expecting to win and therefore, I was not watching the lottery results on