Karnataka - Bijapur   

Rs. 50 crore sought for tourism infrastructure development

Staff Correspondent

Rs. 6 crore to be released to Bijapur for improving facilities

FOR THE VISITOR: Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development B. Sriramulu (second from right) releasing tourism posters in Bijapur on Wednesday.

BIJAPUR: Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development B. Sriramulu has said that a Rs. 50-crore proposal has been submitted to the Department of Finance for the development of tourism-related infrastructure in the State.

Inaugurating a workshop on “Scope for Tourism Development in Bijapur” here on Wednesday, Mr. Sriramulu said he was hopeful that the proposal would be approved soon.

He said that while there were good number of heritage sites, scenic spots and other destinations in the State, they lacked proper approaches. Also, a lot had to be done to provide good facilities, including decent accommodation, information and viable transport to tourists. He said that if the proposal was implemented, it would go long way in tapping the tourism potential of the State, particularly in the north Karnataka region that had remained neglected so far.

Referring to the historical city of Bijapur, the Minister said that it had a number of classic monuments, the tourism potential of which had remained untapped. The Tourism Department had decided to release Rs. 6 crore for the development of tourism-related infrastructure in the city. Therefore, he was asking Deputy Commissioner V.B. Patil to prepare a plan and submit it immediately.

Mr. Sriramulu said that the Infrastructure Development Department had already released Rs. 10 crore for the development of an airport in Bijapur, for which the process of land acquisition had already begun. He said a sum of Rs. 10 crore had been released for gauge-conversion work on the Bagalkot-Gadag section of the Sholapur–Gadag railway line, which was being executed jointly with the South Western Railway. The work was expected to be over by the year-end. Then, heritage sites such as Hampi, Bijapur, Badami, Aihole and Patadkal could be brought under a tourism circuit, and tourists could be offered an attractive package on the lines of the “Palace on Wheels”, he said.

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