Berhampur: The Berhampur Development Authority (BDA), in a bid to attract tourist footfall, would spend about Rs 9 crore for the facelift of Gopalpur beach and Tampara lake, a report said.
According to BDA secretary Sambit Rout, of late there is a significant rise in the number of visitors to Ganjam district. All measures are being taken to provide best comfort to tourists, Rout said.
Tampara lake is located along NH-16 but the condition of the approach road to the lake is not in good shape. The administration is taking steps to improve the one-km-long two-way road connecting the site.
Similarly, a parking lot would come up for vehicles and an attractive garden would be developed to attract tourists. Besides, other amenities would be provided to visitors. More than Rs 4 crore would be spent for these projects.
Tourists from the state and outside visit Gopalpur throughout the year. A lot of development projects were taken up to beautify the shore in recent past. Another Rs 4 crore would be spent for the improvement of the road along the beach. The road would be made one-way to address traffic problems.
Besides, sitting arrangements would be made at both sides of the road for visitors to take rest. On the other hand, a toilet complex would be constructed at a cost of Rs 40 lakh to offer better facilities to the sightseers. At present, the beach doesn’t have a toilet creating problems for visitors.
Meanwhile, another proposal has been mooted to set up a road made of wood to connect the Eco Retreat Hub and the sea. This project would cost about Rs 50 lakh to the BDA.
The contract of all these projects would be awarded to the suitable bidders in the next one week, official sources said.
Ganjam has a long coastline with natural ambience adding more attraction to it. One can get a number of shrines in the district as well to catch the imagination of tourists. In such a scenario, the state government has conceived a number of projects to tap the tourism potential of the district by beautifying the beach as well as the lake.
PNN