Agartala: The spectacular “retreat” ceremony performed daily at the Wagah border is set to be replicated at the India-Bangladesh border at Akhaura, albeit in a different style.
What will set the daily “retreat” ceremony apart is the style, it will not be as “aggressive” as the one at Wagah.
Disclosing this, senior officials in the state home ministry said recently the Union ministry of tourism had sanctioned Rs 18.9 crore for creating a border ceremony facility at Akhaura, which will come up soon. “Twenty per cent of the sanctioned funds has already been made available to the state government and the rest will follow with the progress of work,” Ratan Bhowmik, minister for tourism, said.
He said discussions were on between the governments of Tripura and Bangladesh, besides the BSF and the BGB, over creating the border facility. “The upcoming facility will have a cafeteria, conference hall, drainage system, lanes and seating in galleries in a stadium,” Bhowmik said.
Apart from this, major projects for development of tourism in Tripura are being undertaken for which Rs 99 crore has already been sanctioned. A mini-stadium and related infrastructure will also be constructed, The Telegraph reported.
“Rs 2.48 crore has been sanctioned for Tirthamukh, Rs 1.11 crore for Mandirghat, Rs 1.38 crore for Raisyabari, Rs 17 crore for Narikelkunja and other small islands in the sprawling 42 square km Dumbur lake,” the tourism minister said. Apart from this, funds have been allocated for renovation and development of leading tourist spots like Neer Mahal, Ujjayanta Palace and Unakoti.
The minister said the tourism sector has grown over the past few years. He said the development of tourism is reflected in statistical data. “In 2014-2015, 3.61 lakh domestic tourists and 26,504 foreign tourists had come to Tripura while in 2015-2016, 3.69 lakh domestic and 32,794 foreign tourists visited the state,” Bhowmik said.
A majority of the foreign tourists were from Bangladesh and all of them appreciated the quality of service rendered here, he added.
He said the state government had signed an agreement with the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) for converting the state-run Rajarshi Yatri Niwas into a star-category hotel.
“But four years have gone by and the ITDC authorities have done nothing . So recently we have cancelled the agreement and new arrangements are being contemplated for converting the Yatri Niwas,” Bhowmik said.
Already, an expression of interest has been floated in the media prior to inviting tenders and responses from Guwahati and Calcutta have come, the minister added.