Bengal practices eco-friendly tourism

West Bengal is all set to promote eco-tourism on a large scale. Plans are afoot to set up a bird sanctuary in Kolkata on the lines of Singapore's Jurong Bird Park, a move which is expected to catapult the site to the top-five tourism spots in India. The government has already flagged off work on mega tourism hubs such as Dooars, Hooghly and the world's largest mangrove forest - Sunderbans. 

The government also announced setting up of an eco-tourism advisory board at the fag end of 2014. The board will be chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to facilitate implementation of the proposals in a manner that doesn't damage the environment.

"The two priorities for us are - balance between nature and industrial development and eco-friendly practices. We certainly don't want to disrupt natural systems at the cost of progress and we will monitor the implementation of projects in accordance with that," said Tourism Minister Bratya Basu.  

Work has already started in Jharkhali (in the Sunderbans), at Gajoldoba, 35 km east of Siliguri in the Terai-Dooars forest circuit, and at Sobuj Dweep in Hoogly district. “The tourism department is designing a Sunderbans tourism roadmap taking into account the two priorities,” Basu said.

To tap into the relatively virgin locales in the Sunderbans, Banerjee recently launched a Rs. 400-crore project to boost tourism infrastructure in Jharkhali on a public private partnership model.

Jharkhali is one of the entry points to the Sunderbans - home to the endangered Royal Bengal tiger. The proposed hub will have an eco-tourism park and hotels for tourists.

To ensure ease of travel, Banerjee also unveiled a 725 metre bridge - named Mridanga Setu - that will connect the Sunderbans with the mainland.

Another ambitious project is the world's first mangrove zoo to come up in Jharkhali at a cost of Rs. 25 crore. The hub will mimic the mangrove ecosystem to ensure compatibility with the animals.

 Banerjee said it would mainly help conserve the endangered flora and fauna of the Sunderbans. She has also inaugurated a tiger rescue centre in the area named 'Byaghrosundari' (Bengali for 'beautiful tigress'). She has also reached out to the picturesque hilly regions to boost tourism, including the Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) where she took an initiative to revive a car safari that was stopped four years ago. The reserve, spanning 762 square km in Jalpaiguri district, has 12-15 tigers, according to government sources.

Banerjee plans to make Jayanti, one of the villages in the BTR area, a model village, spruced up with homestays where tourists can enjoy a slice of local culture.

The state will also float a global tender for a 100-acre eco-tourism park at Banarahat in the district, complete with resorts, budget hotels, craft villages, convention centres and a youth hostel. Over the next two years, the project is likely to fetch an investment of more than Rs.300 crore.

Similar to Jharkhali, Gajoldoba, at the confluence of two rivers in Hooghly district, is being pegged as the 'gateway' to the Dooars. "The coastal spots will have water sports and other adventure activities while the ones in the ecologically-rich areas will have safaris, trekking, bird watching etc. Activities will be specific to the locations of the eco tourism parks," said Basu.

The tourism department is also working on developing two new eco-tourism hubs at Sylee, adjacent to Malbazar, and Kunjanagar near Falakata in the Dooars over an area of 90 acres, with a focus on tea tourism.