India

Houseboats at Odisha’s Chilika, Bhitarkanika soon

Tourists visiting Odisha’s Chilika and Bhitarkanika lakes will soon be able to stay in houseboats. Also, visitors to Puri may also get a chance to surf the waves at a planned annual event.

In a bid to boost tourism in the state, the Tourism Advisory Committee of the state government has recently approved an array of activities. “The houseboats would be run by private operators on an operation-and-management basis while the annual festival at Puri will be organised in association with the Surfing Federation of India,” Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev told news agency PTI.

As part of the plan, nine tourism circuits and 13 destinations across the state would be developed. The major destinations to be developed are Rambha and Kantilo clusters, Gandhi and Buddhist circuits, Konark, Daringbadi, Samuka beach and DAK Bungalow trail.

Roadshows would be organised at Chennai, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, Raipur, Surat, and Jaipur to promote Odisha as an attractive tourist destination. They have already been held at Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad, reported indiatimes.