Gopalpur all set to lure back tourists

BERHAMPUR:The decline in tourists has spurred the Gopalpur-on-Sea administration to launch a cleanliness and beautification drive in the resort town. The public-private venture will include overhaul of the sanitation facilities and construction of a ring road. "Our prime aim is to lure back both domestic and foreign tourists. This is why we have chalked out several development measures including sanitation. We will launch the drive soon," district collector V K Pandian said. "The other planned projects are repair of the roads leading to the beach, a swinging bridge, water sports facilities in the town's backwater area and an aquarium," Pandian added. Berhampur Development Authority (BDA) will be entrusted with building the ring road at an estimated cost of Rs 10.5 crore and repairing the other roads. The administration will submit a proposal for building a swinging bridge modelled along the lines of the famous Laxman Jhula in Hrishikesh. "The proposed bridge will not only attract tourists, but also benefit residents of the cut-off area in the town," local MLA Pradeep Panigrahi said. The decision to launch the development drive was taken at a Gopalpur Development Committee meeting held on Monday evening. While hoteliers will contribute about 50 per cent of the cost, the Notified Area Council (Gopalpur) will provide 30 per cent and the Beach Development Committee headed by the collector will give 20 per cent of the funds. "While the district administration will provide infrastructure, hoteliers will also play a bigger role in this regard," he added. The committee has also decided to evict the illegal slums along the beach illegally. Officials said there were plans to rehabilitate the slum dwellers in another area. The development committee has taken this decision following decrease of tourist flow to the beach resort last year. The number of tourists to the town was registered at 2,82,709 in 2008 as against 2,83,040 the previous year. While the number visit of foreigners to the sea-shore town increased from 890 to 987 during the period, the visit of the domestic tourists was reduced from 2,82,150 to 2,81,722 during the period, officials said. In another development, three hospitality majors have shown interest to build hotels in the town. District tourist officer S K Patnaik said the Oberoi group, which had shut its hotel in Gopalpur, is set to resume operations soon. "Hoteliers have shown interest to establish their units because Gopalpur has immense tourism potential," Patnaik added.
Source: Times of India