Best Tourism Village Award

Pochampally village has been named the best tourism village award in India.

This sustainable destination prize is offered by National Tourism Awards 2020 and the best travel website awards. This is a great achievement, and we are so proud of our villagers, who have worked tirelessly to make Pochampally as it is now. This will act as an encouragement for other villages to follow in our footsteps and work towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment, which will benefit the next generations. The award was presented by the Union Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India on 2nd December 2021.

About Pochampally village

Pochampally village, which is located in the Chittoor district and it has been selected as the best tourism village in India. This award was presented by the Union Minister of Tourism, Government of India to Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar on 22 January 2014 at 3:30 PM at Hotel Sheraton, Delhi. The villagers of Pochampally have recently won this award for their efforts toward sustainable development and have been awarded an award for their efforts. The village was selected for the award because of its efforts toward sustainable development. It was chosen from over 11,000 villages in India from which they were shortlisted by a panel of experts. In the semi-final round, as many as 1,000 shortlisted villages had been reduced to 60 and ultimately to 9. The villagers have given credit to all those who worked with them and helped them achieve this feat which has earned them much praise.

Pochampally achieved many other awards such as

• Eco village award: For their efforts in organic farming, Pochampally has been selected to receive the prestigious Eco-Village Award by International Natural Products Expo. This is a recognition of the efforts in promoting organic farming and educating villagers on the importance of sustainable living.

• The Maharashtra State Government has conferred on Pochampally the status of “Green Village”. This is an award in recognition of the efforts being made in conserving our natural resources and protecting biodiversity.

•The Pochampally Village Council has been awarded the status of “Adarsh Gram” by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. This award is a recognition of the efforts towards making Pochampally a model village. It was presented to the village by the Union Minister for Rural Development in the presence of Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Chhagan Bhujbal on January 26, 2011.

• Pochampally has been awarded the “Chhatrapati Shivaji National Award” for the year 2011-12. This is an award for undertaking big projects and making significant changes in areas such as tourism, healthcare and conservation of forests. The award was presented by the President of India Dr Pranab Mukherjee on 26 June 2012 at a ceremony held in Poona, Maharashtra.

• Sustainable destination awards 2020: Pochampally was a nominee and runner up in the Sustainable destination awards 2020.

•Best Tourism Village Award

Pochampally is the first village in India to be part of a green tourism project for sustainable tour packages. This project is part of the sustainable destination awards 2020.

• Best travel website awards: Pochampally was also a winner in the Travel Website award.

The success is due to the efforts of villagers who have worked tirelessly and with determination in making Pochampally as it is now. With young villagers working hard in the field we hope that this will act as an encouragement for other villages to follow in our footsteps and work towards a cleaner and more sustainable environment, which will benefit the next generations as well.

Organic farming

Being the first village in India to achieve 100% organic farming, Pochampally has inspired many neighbouring villages to go in for organic farming. Over the last one year, it has inspired over 30 villages around Pochampally to start growing more organic produce and shift out of chemical farming. The main advantage of this is that 60% of the household expenditure can be saved by shifting to organic agriculture.

Communication and Education

The Pochampally village is the first to have its own FM radio station. This is called Green FM. The radio has been broadcasting programmes on organic farming, family planning, women empowerment, sanitation and protection of the environment etc. Apart from the radio station, we have a 100% literacy rate in the village with children studying in English medium schools. 

Tourism

The Pochampally Village Council has been awarded the status of ‘Adarsh Gram’ by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. This award is a recognition of our efforts towards making Pochampally a model village. It was presented to the village by the Union Minister for Rural Development in the presence of Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal on January 26, 2011.

Conclusion

Best Tourism Village Award is a contest organised by Sustainable Destination Awards 2020. It is an online programme of a non-contradictory, projective approach to sustainable tourism development. Pochampally village won the first prize in the category ‘Innovation’. Pochampally is a village located on the outskirts of Hyderabad. It is renowned as the Pochampally village. In this village, there are lots of small hotels and restaurants, some near each other. The town is also famous for its historical monuments, including the Rajender Kothi. This place has several old temples like Pochampally Satyanarayana temple, Rajendra Kothi, etc., attracting tourists far and wide.