Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked officials to develop 31 forts located in the Bundelkhand region into new centres of tourism.
Kalinjar Fort in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand (Image: Wikepedia)
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked officials to make an action plan to develop 31 ancient forts located in the Bundelkhand region of the state into new centres of tourism.
The chief minister said the entire region of Bundelkhand is endowed with historical and cultural heritage and there is a need to inform the new generation about its importance. He added that many forts in the region have sprawling complexes and can transform into the best hotels.
Yogi Adityanath said Kalinjar fort is situated in a vast area of 542 hectares and told the officials that light and sound show, camping, trekking, rock-climbing and facade lighting of Kalinjar fort should be done with private partnership.
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He also said many forts are in dilapidated conditions and efforts should be made to revive them. For the lake located in Talbehat fort and Barua Sagar lake, Yogi directed the officials to initiate plans to start water sports and adventure tourism activities.
He told his officials to adopt the public-private partnership (PPP) funding model for the restoration work. He added that the corporate social responsibility (CSR) model could also be useful and said the state government will also fund the project as per requirements.
Adityanath said the important project will require interdepartmental coordination and the role of tourism, culture, rural development, transport, civil aviation, among others will be important. While preparing the action plan, the role of all the departments and the time frame for their work should be fixed, he added.
Yogi Adityanath’s directions came a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Uttar Pradesh government to frame a tourism circuit for the people to visit the forts located near the Bundelkhand Expressway.
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