Railways must focus on important tourist sites--Bhandare

Bhubaneswar, Oct 05 (UNI) Orissa Governor M C Bhandare today urged the Railways to take advantage of the immense potential of tourism in the state.

Besides the industrial and mines sector, the railways has to contribute significantly taking advantage of the tourism potential of Orissa, Mr.Bhandare said while speaking at a national level seminar on ''Role of railways on development of Orissa'' organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Forum.

The Governor said the golden triangle of Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar Buddhist monuments sites and exquisite sea beaches of Orissa would attract more tourist both domestic and foreign tourists, if package tours in the line of Palace on Wheel are introduced by the railways.

Such initiative, Mr.Bhandare said would help the state to reap the benefit from the tourism sector as well as strengthen its financial position.

He further said the present resurgence of industrial growth in Orissa required railways greater efforts to enter into the inner part of state and hoped that a number of project coming up in the hinter land would give boost to the process of the industrialisation and economic growth by strengthening the transport sector.

The Governor said along with the railway alignment, a hub of steel industries were coming up in Orissa and many more likely to come up in the near future in view of the new railway infrastructure This indeed a positive sign showing the railways commitment to improve the economy of Orissa but there is still a long way to go as many areas are yet to be connected with railway link even after 150 years of railways existence in India, Mr.Bhandare remarked.

UNI