Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chauhan inaugurated Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre (MCCC) at Khajuraho today in the august presence of Union Minister Of Tourism (I/C) Prahlad Singh Patel, Member Of Parliament from Khajuraho Bishnu Dutt Sharma, Minister for Tourism and Culture Government Of Madhya Pradesh Usha Thakur, Secretary Tourism Arvind Singh, Additional Director General, Ministry of Tourism Rupinder Brar, Vice Chairman India Convention Promotion Bureau Amaresh Tiwari and prominent personalities including Government Officials from Centre and the State of Madhya Pradesh.
While inaugurating MCCC, the Chief Minister said: “Maharaja Chhatrasal Convention Centre will bring Khajuraho on the global map of tourism for conference, meetings and spiritual events. The newly built convention centre at a cost of 51 crore 43 lakh (60:40) under Swadesh Darshan scheme, is equipped with the state-of-art facilities and amenities.
He opines that the newly launched convention centre will attract more MICE business and enhance the livelihood of the people living in the vicinity of the town. While launching the convention centre the Chief Minister paid obeisance to the glory of Maharaja Chhatrasal and the holy land of Bundelkhand.
He further informed that along with the launch of this convention centre, almost 121 tour operators, MICE operators, travel agents and event management companies have come from Delhi and other parts of the country to brainstorm and exchange of ideas to develop Khajuraho as a prominent MICE destination. “Stakeholders’ suggestions are most welcomed and let me assure you that the ideas shared with the Government will be implemented with immediate effect to make this destination better and attract more tourists from across the world,” added Chauhan.
Once known for its glorious history, temple architecture and having regular flights, the destination has recorded a drastic fall in the number of international and domestic tourists due to non-availability of direct connectivity form rest of the country.
Addressing the connectivity issue, the Chief Minister informed: “The Government of Madhya Pradesh is considering all possible avenues to connect the destination with leading cities of the country. “In order to regularise the scheduled air connectivity we are looking into the direction of Viable Gap Funding (VAF), if needed.”
While addressing the delegates, Prahlad Singh Patel said: “I will continue to make unceasing efforts to bring back the ancient glory of Khajuraho and establish it on the global stage.” He informed that Khajuraho has been included in the list of 19 Iconic Destinations of the country which will see a lot of developments in days to come.
The Convention Hall has a capacity of 1200 pax. Meeting Hall 01 can accommodate 65 pax whereas the Meeting Hall 02 and Meeting Hall 03 can accommodate 65 pax each. Pre Function Area 1 has the capacity of 515 pax and the Pre Function Area 2 can accommodate 550 pax.
The whole campus, structure and services are designed as per environment friendly building guidelines. High performance, UV resistant, heat resistant glass is used; energy efficient HVAC system is installed and energy efficient LED lights are used.
