Media Can Help Give Bastar a New Identity Through Tourism: CM Vishnu Deo Sai

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, with his Adviser R. Krishna Das (L) and Special Secretary to the Chief Minister and Commissioner, Public Relations, Rajat Bansal (R), interacts with journalists who returned from a Leh-Ladakh study and exposure visit at the Chief Minister’s residence in Raipur on Saturday, August 22, 2026- Photo Credit: primelookindia.com via CMO

Chief Minister urges journalists to take Bastar’s natural beauty, tribal culture and changing ground realities to national and international audiences

Key Highlights

• Sai says Bastar should now be known for nature, culture, tourism and development—not Naxal violence
• Journalists returning from Leh-Ladakh exposure visit share experiences with Chief Minister
• Tourism seen as a major source of jobs and self-employment for local youth and women
• CM says improved peace and infrastructure are opening new possibilities across Bastar
• Tourism could expand markets for local handicrafts, forest produce and traditional products

“Bastar should now be known not for Naxalism, but for its nature, culture, tourism and development. When positive stories about Bastar’s natural beauty, culture and tourist destinations reach the country through the media, people’s perception of Bastar will also change.” — Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai

Raipur : Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Saturday, August 22, 2026, called upon the media to play a greater role in presenting a changing Bastar to the country and the world, saying the region was emerging from the long shadow of Naxal violence and was ready to build a new identity around peace, development, culture and tourism.

Sai made the remarks during an interaction at the Chief Minister’s residence in Raipur with journalists who had returned from a study and exposure visit to Leh-Ladakh.

Additional Director, Public Relations, Sanjiv Tiwari, seated at the right corner of the round table in the front row, along with journalists during an interaction with Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai at the Chief Minister’s residence in Raipur on Saturday, August 22, 2026. The journalists shared experiences from their Leh-Ladakh study and exposure visit and discussed tourism development and Bastar’s tourism potential. Photo credit:primelookindia.com via CMO

The Chief Minister discussed their experiences from the visit and the lessons that could be relevant to developing tourism in Chhattisgarh, particularly in Bastar.

Sai said Bastar possessed extraordinary natural assets — dense forests, waterfalls, rivers, hills and caves — alongside a distinctive tribal heritage encompassing traditions, folk art, handicrafts, cuisine and ways of life.

He said these attributes needed to be presented more effectively on the national and international tourism map.

For nearly four decades, Sai said, Bastar frequently figured in national media coverage primarily in connection with Naxal violence, leaving its natural and cultural identity overshadowed.

The situation, he maintained, was changing as gains against Naxalism and an improving security environment were creating opportunities for development. Expansion of roads, communications, education, healthcare and other basic infrastructure was also helping create new possibilities for tourism.

Tourism Can Transform Bastar’s Local Economy

Sai stressed that tourism was not merely a means of changing a region’s image but could become an important pillar of its local economy.

“Our effort is that tourists from India and across the world should be able to visit Bastar without fear, experience its natural beauty and distinctive culture closely, and return with an understanding of a new and changing Bastar.” — Vishnu Deo Sai

Growth in tourism, he said, could generate employment and self-employment through hotels, homestays, transport, local cuisine, handicrafts and guide services. Local youth and women could be among the direct beneficiaries, while Bastar’s handicrafts, forest produce and other local products could gain access to larger markets.

Referring to Leh-Ladakh, Sai said regions possessing distinctive natural and geographical characteristics could use well-managed tourism to bring significant changes to their local economies.

The visiting journalists shared their observations on tourism management, preservation of local culture, environmental protection and tourism-linked livelihoods in Leh-Ladakh.

The Chief Minister said the state government was committed to giving lasting shape to peace and development in Bastar while simultaneously expanding its tourism potential.

Chief Minister’s adviser R. Krishna Das, Public Relations Commissioner Rajat Bansal and Chief Minister’s Press Officer Alok Singh, Additional Director Sanjiv Tiwari along with journalists, were present during the interaction.