Kuldhara-The Ghost Village
The local legend claims that while deserting the village, the Paliwals imposed a curse that no one would be able to re-occupy the village. Those who tried to re-populate the village experienced paranormal activities, and therefore, the village remains uninhabited.
Gradually, the village acquired reputation as a haunted place, and started attracting tourists. The local residents around the area do not believe in the ghost stories, but propagate them in order to attract tourists. In the early 2010s, Gaurav Tiwari of Indian Paranormal Society claimed to have observed paranormal activities at the site. The 18-member team of the Society along with 12 other people spent a night at the village. They claimed to have encountered moving shadows, haunting voices, talking spirits, and other paranormal activities.
In 2006, the government set up a “Jurassic Cactus Park” at the site for botanical studies In 2011, some scenes of the movie Agent Vinod & In 2017 climax scenes of the Tamil Movie Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru were shot at the site. The film’s crew raised new structures for their set. They painted the ruined walls with Taliban insignia and Urdu words for their shooting requirements. They also covered some of the walls with cow dung to get the rustic look. Many tourists accused them of defacing heritage property, and subsequently, the Rajasthan government stalled the shooting. The police booked cases against three of the crew members. The producers defended themselves blaming the episode on a misunderstanding, and stated that they believed they had the necessary permissions. The Archaeological department imposed a fine of ₹ 100,000 on the producers, and also asked them to deposit ₹ 300,000 for restoring the defaced structures. After three days of restoration, the Taliban pictures, the Urdu phrases and the cow dung was removed from the walls.
In 2015, the Rajasthan government decided to actively develop the village as a tourist spot. The project is being undertaken as a public-private partnership with Jindal Steel Works. The plan includes establishment of visitor facilities such as a cafe, a lounge, a folk-dance performance area, night-stay cottages and shops.
