Kolkata, Sept. 4 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday announced a Rs 500-crore investment push in tourism and plans to procure 11 vessels for pleasure cruises on the Ganga as part of efforts to position Bengal as an international tourism destination.

Speaking at a tourism programme at Dhono Dhanya Auditorium, Adhikari said Kolkata could get water metro projects along the lines of those in Kerala. The riverfront and ghats would be developed as tourism and connectivity hubs.

Kolkata is expected to become the country's 17th city associated with a water metro project if the plans are implemented.

Adhikari launched the tourism department's new logo, "West Bengal - Where India Feels Different", and the campaign line, "See it in a new form, see it through new eyes". A dedicated tourism department ringtone was also unveiled.

The Chief Minister added: "West Bengal has considerable natural resources and enormous potential in tourism. But many other states have developed their tourism infrastructure and networks much further, and tourists have tended to depend on those destinations. We have to move beyond this situation," he said.

The government is examining successful tourism models, including Goa's, and exploring possible cooperation with Bangladesh. It also plans to develop tourism circuits from the riverfront to different destinations and islands, allowing visitors to make day trips and stay overnight.

Adhikari said the state needed to address the imbalance in tourist flows, particularly in north Bengal. "All roads to Sikkim pass through West Bengal, yet more tourists travel to places such as Gangtok, giving our own hill stations such as Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong a miss," he said, stressing the need to make tourists spend more time in Bengal.

He said efforts were also underway to expand employment and manpower in tourism.

The state will plant 2 million mangrove saplings this year to restore the Sundarbans ecosystem, with students involved in the programme. A tiger-release programme has been scheduled at Buxa Tiger Reserve on October 2.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.