Hyderabad: Nirmal town in Nirmal district and Somasila village in Nagarkurnool district have been awarded the best tourism villages in the country by the Centre. Nirmal received the award in the category of best tourism village ‘crafts’ and Somasila received the award in the category of ‘spiritual wellness.’
The awards were given under eight categories by the Centre on the occasion of “World Tourism Day” celebrations held in New Delhi on Friday, September 27.
Nirmal additional collector, Faizan Ahmed, Nirmal Toys Arts Society president, S Pentaiah, and Nagarkurnool district tourism development officer, T Narasimha, received the awards on behalf of the state government from the hands of Union tourism minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar at the ceremony.
The first edition of the Best Tourism Villages Competition in 2023 saw applications from 795 villages in the country.
In the second edition of the contest this year, a total of 991 applications were received from 30 states and union territories, out of which 36 villages were recognised as winners across eight categories.
