Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 27: The state government has decided to set up Tourist Police Cells at eight police stations across the state in order to provide better services to tourists visiting popular destinations in the state.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state tourism promotion council held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said the police cells will be set up at Puri, Konark, Dhauli, Lingaraj, Nandankanan, Satapada, Chandipur and Gopalpur very shortly.
It has been decided to develop 15 ‘Jajabaras’ (wayside amenities centres) along all major national and state highways in the state. One such centre will be opened at Patnaikia near Sakhigopal before the Nabakalebara festival, sources said.
It was revealed in the meeting that the government is preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the development of Gopalpur-Tampara-Chilika and Talasari-Chandipur-Nagar circuits under the Central scheme for integrated circuits called Swadesh Darshan.
To improve the brand image of Orissa Tourism across India, it was decided to rope in professional agencies to promote tourism in print, electronic and cyber media, and at travel fairs and road shows.
Besides, Orissa Tourism products will be branded at Bhubaneswar and New Delhi airports. Facilities being provided by Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) will be improved through private public partnership (PPP) mode.
The council has decided that the State-Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) for tourism projects up to an investment of `50 crore will be chaired by the tourism secretary instead of Chief Secretary, sources added.
The council has also set a target to double the number of visitors from other countries to about two crore per annum from the present one crore. The tourist inflow is likely to increase substantially with the commencement of international flights, sources said.
Tourist arrivals in the state have increased by 12 per cent from 2013 to 2014. While 98.66 lakh tourists visited the state in 2013, the number went up to 1.08 crore in 2014.
