New Delhi, February 8
Embarking on a unique idea to popularise a town and direct potential tourists to the place that figured in an international film, the Ministry of Tourism has decided to promote Manimajra, a small town in close proximity to Chandigarh, as a tourist destination.

The place has the potential to attract foreign tourists as they would like to visit locations where “Zero Dark Thirty”, an international film by Kathryn Bigelow that bagged five Oscar nominations, was shot. Large parts of the film, a narrative about the decade-long global hunt for Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, were shot in Manimajra.

The initiative is part of an effort launched by new minister K Chiranjeevi to promote every part of India that has the potential to attract international tourists. Recently, the ministry had launched a campaign to promote Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala) where international film “Life of Pi” was shot. It also hosted Tourism Mart at Guwahati last month to promote northeastern India for international tourism.