TOURISM IN COOCH BEHAR

Hiten Barman's bid to improve tourism infrastructure

The new forest minister Mr Hiten Barman is eager to improve the infrastructure of tourism sector in Cooch Behar district. He already took initiatives to better the tourism industry in Cooch Behar as well as in North Bengal.

After his recent meeting with senior forest officials of the state including that of North Bengal districts at Cooch Behar Mr Barman announced that during the celebration of forest week this year the state forest department would distribute two-crore saplings in the districts including one-lakh in Kolkata to make the environment green.

The minister also announced that they would build up five new forest bungalows and the existing ones situated at different areas would be renovated and modernised. Tourists from different areas of the country and abroad come to stay at these forest bungalows but the infrastructure needs to be improved to provide them comfortable experiences. Learning the inadequacy of facilities at the forest bungalows the minister has decided to better the condition of those bungalows. Booking counters would be set up at different districts to help the local and foreign tourists for booking the bungalows smoothly.

Mr Barman told reporters that a tourism centre would be build up on a 104-acre land at Salbari under his Assembly constituency (Sitalkuchi) at the vicinity of the historic Garh (mound) of king Kanteswar. At the same time the tourism infrastructure would be developed surrounding the historic capital of Kamtapur at Gosanimari in Dinhata and the eco-tourism centre at Tekunia in Mathabhanga.