ETW STAFF – Kolkata
West Bengal Tourism Department has drawn up concrete plans to include historical places across the state on the tourist map. In a novel venture, the department will introduce a luxury 30-seater air conditioned bus service for tours to historical places of Gour and Adina in Malda district. A first-of-its-kind initiative, the bus service will commence in the morning from the government tourist lodge in the heart of the town. After a trip to Gour and visiting the remains of the ancient relics, the bus will return to the tourist lodge for lunch and will continue to Adina.
Commenting on the development, Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, tourism minister, West Bengal said, “It is our priority to spread tourism beyond the traditional spots like Darjeeling, Dooars, Digha and the Sunderbans. We wish to exploit the huge potential of Bengal to attract tourists. Our aim is to attract not only domestic tourists but also foreign tourists.” He added, “Apart from training local youths as tourist guides, we have taken the initiative of making the tourist spots more attractive. An amount of Rs 3.45 crore has been sanctioned for illuminating the historical spots of Gour and Rs 1.53 crore for Adina. Besides, the roads to the Pala dynasty remains at Jagjibanpur will also be repaired at a cost of Rs 1.83 crore.”
The state tourism board website is also undergoing refurbishment. Stating about the department’s future projects he added, “We have taken up the plan of introducing a cruise on the Ganga covering Rajmahal, Farakka, Mayapur and Nabadwip. The survey is already done and we are awaiting the final report.”
