This Noida restaurant offers free ‘chole bhature’ for cancelling Maldives trip

What are the perks of booking a holiday in Lakshadweep? Experience serene white sand beaches, vibrant coral reefs, soothing melody of crashing waves amid lush green landscapes, and receive a complimentary plate of ‘chole bhature’ from a restaurant in Uttar Pradesh.

Yes, that’s right! A restaurant in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida has introduced an enticing offer – a free plate of ‘chole bhature’ with every Lakshadweep booking or any cancelled trips to the Maldives, amid India’s diplomatic row with the island nation.

Joining the #BoycottMaldives campaign, Mr. Bhatura – a restaurant chain in Noida and Ghaziabad – is offering a plate of its ‘special chole bhature’ free for those who have booked a trip to Lakshadweep or cancelled their visit to the Maldives, India Today reported.

“Through this, we want to promote tourism in Lakshadweep. We started this scheme on Saturday and the response has been very good. In the NCR region itself, 10 people have availed the scheme and they have appreciated it. We now plan to extend the scheme till the end of January,” Vijay Mishra, owner of the restaurant, was quoted as saying by India Today.

He added that it is not only about doing business but about showing support to the country and its tourism sector.

Speaking about the unique ad, the restaurant chain owner said he came up with the idea after Maldivian ministers started making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The India-Maldives relations came under some stress as President Mohamed Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president in November last year that he would keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country.

The Maldives is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral relationship including in areas of defence and security witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous government in Male.

Earlier, the Maldives media reported that Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw the Indian troops from the island nation before March 15.

Muizzu’s latest move comes a week after a social media storm in which three of the island’s ministers were suspended for alleged derogatory comments made against Indians and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Indian leaders, celebrities and tour companies responded by cancelling holidays to the island and vowing to boost tourism to domestic islands instead.