Jalpaiguri, Sept. 24 -- A five-year-old plan to develop district-level tourism circuits by linking religious sites and historical structures across North Bengal has remained unimplemented despite a detailed survey conducted by the state Tourism Department and the West Bengal Heritage Commission.

The joint team conducted a two-week survey in late 2021, documenting religious sites, historical structures and other potential tourist destinations. The sites were photographed and GPS-tagged as part of a plan to develop regional tourism circuits and upgrade infrastructure where necessary.

The proposal has now received a fresh push in Jalpaiguri, with Rajganj MLA Dinesh Sarkar inspecting religious sites in his constituency after discussions with Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh.

Tourism entrepreneur Sabyasachi Roy, who was associated with the 2021 survey, said around 150 religious sites, historical structures, grounds, water bodies, railway lines, bungalows and other locations were listed in Jalpaiguri district. Around 110 structures were identified in Jalpaiguri Sadar, Rajganj and Maynaguri blocks alone. Around 100 sites were photographed and GPS-tagged.

"The previous government did not implement the plan in the following years. All the information is still available with the Tourism Department and the Heritage Commission. If the present government wants, it can easily take forward the development of the proposed tourism circuit," Roy said.

On Tuesday, Sarkar visited the Debi Chowdhurani Shamshan Kali Temple near Goshala More in Jalpaiguri town and met members of the temple trust. On Thursday, he visited the Bhramari Devi Temple at Bodaganj.

"I want to develop a religious tourism circuit by linking the Debi Chowdhurani Temple at Goshala, Bhramari Temple at Bodaganj, Shimladangi Temple at Gajoldoba and several other temples. Infrastructure at these temples will also be improved,"

Sarkar said.

Tourism Minister Shankar Ghosh said: "We want to promote integrated tourism development. An initiative has been taken to carry out satellite mapping of tourist destinations. We will have to find out what survey reports are already available with the department."

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