Pochampally village in Telangana has been selected as one of the best Tourism Villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
The prestigious award will be given on the occasion of the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly on 2nd December 2021 in Madrid, Spain.
The Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO Pilot initiative aims to award those villages which are outstanding examples of rural destinations and showcase good practices in line with its specified nine evaluation areas. It also aims to support villages to enhance their rural tourism potential through training and access to opportunities for improvement.
The Ministry of Tourism recommended three villages for the UNWTO Best Tourism Village entry from India. These were Kongthong in Meghalaya, Ladhpura Khas, Madhya Pradesh and Pochampally in Telangana.
Pochampally, 50 Kms from Hyderabad, is in Nalgonda district of Telangana and is often referred to as the Silk City of India for the exquisite sarees that are woven through a unique style called Ikat. This style, Pochampally Ikat, received a Geographical Indicator (GI Status) in 2004. Ikat is a Malaysian, Indonesian word which means “Tie and Dye”.
Pochampally is also known as Bhoodan Pochampally to commemorate the Bhoodan Movement that was launched by Acharya Vinobha Bhave from this village on April 18th, 1951. Currently a two room Vinobha Bhave Mandir exists within the village which was earlier the place where Vinobha Bhave resided during his visit to the village.
Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy congratulated the people of the village and said, “Pochampally’s unique weaving styles and patterns received special focus through Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of Vocal 4 Local as a part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.”
In 2015, to recognise the diversity of weaving techniques and our rich handloom tradition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Handloom Day on August 7 as a tribute to the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement that was made in a meeting at the Calcutta Town hall on the same day in 1905.
