 Guwahati, Sunday, April 25, 2004 CITY Governor to help tap tourist potential By A Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, April 24 � TOURFED, a leading cooperative society engaged in tourism promotion in the State, made a slide show presentation before the Governor Lt.Gen (retd) Ajai Singh showcasing various exotic locations with immense tourism potential. TOURFED chairman Amar Bora, who made the presentation on April 22, said the Governor was very happy and quite surprised also, as he did not know that such places with pristine natural grandeur were lying neglected and he readily agreed to lend a helping hand to tap the tourism potential of these areas. About 56 slides containing vivid descriptions of these areas were shown to the Governor. �The Governor was surprised to see the slides as no one from the Department of Tourism or other agencies had told him that such areas existed in Assam,� Bora said. The Governor was even more surprised to learn that Mayong is only 35 km from the city of Guwahati with the King still alive. Some of the areas showcased by TOURFED were Mayong and Pobitora near Guwahati, Sri Surya Pahar in Goalpara district, and Boglamari village near Dudhnoi in the same district. Mayong (of tantric fame) and Pobitora (a wildlife sanctuary having the world�s second highest rhino population) have now come to the limelight after TOURFED�s initiatives like opening of a museum, introduction of buffalo-cart ride, magic show for tourists, etc. �There has been a noticeable increase in the number of tourists visiting the two places. Similarly, Sri Surya Pahar too has witnessed a steady increase in tourists after TOURFED�s wide publicity drive,� Bora said. For Boglamari, a unique village with a rich cultural heritage, a proposal for building a tourist complex has been submitted to the Union Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Finance Corporation of India, New Delhi a long time back but no fund has been received till this date, Bora revealed. The Goalpara district administration has already allotted five bighas of land for building the tourist complex for Boglamari village. The Governor lauded the efforts of TOURFED in highlighting Assam as a prime destination for the tourist, which could also go a long way towards boosting the economy of the State. The Governor, himself a tourism enthusiast, was of the view that Assam was a land of unparalleled natural beauty in the entire country and was rather perturbed as to why tourism had not flourished as an industry here, Bora said. Bora said the Governor assured financial support to TOURFED as the Chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC), provided the money was utilized fully. �He also informed us about the formation of the North East Tourism Promotion Board, which is coming out with a master plan to implement viable projects for tourism promotion of the State as well as the North-east,� he said. It may be noted that FR Ingty, Consultant, Banking and Industry, NEC recently visited Mayong and Pobitora and took stock of the activities of TOURFED there. Bora said the Governor stressed the identification of new areas that could be opened to tourism providing only basic tourist facilities on the lines �adventure camps,� besides enhancement of the existing facilities, introduction of low-cost packages to suit the budget tourists through recognized travel agencies, and speedy clearance of travel documents by both the State and the Central governments. With these initiatives the flow of the tourist traffic will increase, and the consequent flow of funds can be utilized in building more tourist infrastructures and facilities, he added. |
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