SKOCH Star of Governance Award

Madhya Pradesh

Tourism & Culture

SKOCH Star of Governance Award

Madhya Pradesh

Tourism & Culture

Mr Vivek Shrotriya, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board

New Delhi, 18th June 2022

In January 2021, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board started an open-air drive-in vaccination drive called ‘MPT DDX Drive-In Cinema’ to revitalise the entertainment space and give people something to look forward to again. People can now drive into the area, do the paperwork for their vaccination and then wait for their turns inside their vehicles while enjoying the movie. Receiving the shots inside the cars offers an extra degree of protection to the vulnerable demographics such as the elderly, women, pregnant ladies and those with co-morbidities. More than 11,000 doses have been administered in this way in Bhopal. The idea is an elegant solution to the problems of long queues, crowding and tiresome waiting at

L to R: Sameer Kochhar, Chairman, SKOCH Group; Mr Vivek Shrotriya, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board

vaccination centers. The entire concept is innovative, allowing people to drive in, wait and receive their vaccination shots all within the comfort of their vehicle.

In another initiative, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board launched ‘Safe Tourism Destination for Women in Madhya Pradesh’ through awareness, education, training and employment. It intends to make tourist places in the state, women-friendly. To do so, the Board is organising skill training workshops for 10,000+ women. The goal is to employ women and girls in all kinds of jobs, from cooks, stewards, bell girls, delivery persons, housekeeping and managers to tour guides and taxi drivers and so on. More than 500 women are trained every year for a wide range of jobs in the Tourism space. There is a plan to develop and implement a 2-months self-defense training programme, which will teach 40,000 women and girls over 3 years. So far, 50 tourist destinations in 20 clusters have been earmarked as safe.