‘Discover Bihar’ roadshow launched in Chennai

'Discover Bihar' roadshow travels from Hyderabad to Chennai. The goal is to present the better law and order conditions and boost tourism in Bihar. The change has attracted a lot of foreign investments in the state.In the Picture: Dr. D.K. Shukla, Managing Director of Bihar Tourism Development Corporation

Chennai, Jan 20: Discover Bihar – its rich culture, heritage and tourism. That’s the simple message that Dr. D.K. Shukla, Managing Director of Bihar Tourism Development Corporation was here to convey to travel agents. “In the past issues like security and lack of infrastructure were major concerns for tourists, but not today,” he told newspersons.

“We started late to promote tourism but now want to catch up with neighbouring states by improved transportation and accommodation facility,” he said. On the private-public-partnership basis, a sum of around Rs 200 crore is expected to be brought in the next two to three years by private players to develop tourism, he said.

The State’s biggest attraction continues to be link to Buddha’s life, which is attracting tourists within the country and from countries like Sri Lanka, Japan and Bhutan.

For instance, in December, to coincide with Buddha’s 2006th year of enlightenment, nearly 4 lakh foreign tourists arrived in Bihar. This was compared to 6 lakh for the entire 2010. “Our infrastructure could not meet such a massive influx of tourists. We do not even have a five star hotel in the State,” he said.

In an another news posted in Economic Times the focus of the Road shows are to promote Eco-tourism
Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation is taking a series of initiatives, including boosting eco-tourism, to attract more visitors to the state, a top official said here today.

"There is more emphasis on eco-tourism as it was absent earlier. The Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve and the Black-Buck Safari are some of the initiatives in this regard," BSTDC Managing Director D K Shukla told a press meet here.

As for the Tiger Reserve, which ranks fourth in India in terms of density of the wild cat population, tourists would be allowed only in "restricted areas" out of the 880 sq.km. sanctuary, he said.

Infrastructure and transport necessary for the tourism sector have been developed and the "image of and perception about Bihar is changing," Shukla said.

Year 2011 marked 2,600 years of enlightenment of Lord Buddha and celebrations would continue in 2012 also, he said, adding a slew of activities had been either rolled out or were in the anvil to attract more tourists to the state.

This includes the popular Buddhist Circuit programme, Rural Tourism, Aqua Tourism with focus on river Ganga and Yoga and Meditation Package, among others, he said.

The provisional tourists figure in January-December 2011 was 1.32 crore, including over 5.27 lakh foreign visitors to his state, Shukla added.

Source: Business Line, Economic Times
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