More than 17 years after the Himachal Pradesh government proposed a plan to make Kangra’s ancient Masroor rock temple an international tourist spot, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Wednesday took the first step to promote the historic site as the emerging face of rural tourism in the hill state. 

Located 35 km from Dharamshala, the temple played host to a series of cultural performances in the evening, following Dhumal and tourism officials receiving a group of foreign and local tourists there. However, none of the BJP ministers and MLAs from Kangra were present for the event. 

Addressing the crowd, Dhumal said the site was being promoted to divert the flow of foreign tourists to this area, which will provide direct and indirect employment to the locals. Recently, the state government had sanctioned Rs 500 crore for the development of rural tourism. Among this, Rs 4 crore will be spent on the Kangra Tourism Circuit, which also includes the development of Masroor temple complex.