Tripureswari temple to get ''mega tourist destination''

Agartala, Feb 14 (PTI) Tripureswari temple, one of the51 Shakti Pithas and a famous tourist spot in Tripura isexpected to get ''mega tourist destination'' status by Ministryof Tourism and Culture, official sources said today.

"A detailed project report (DPR) has already beenforwarded to the Centre after it had given green signal to goahead with the proposal for making Tripureswari temple as megatourist destination," Secretary, Tripura state Tourismdepartment, Kumar Alok said.

If Centre accepts the proposal, the government couldreceived an outlay of Rs 25-50 crore for major expansion oftourism facilities centering Tripureswari temple, 55 km fromhere, he said.

Kumar said the government wants to exploit the state''stourism potential fully and construct more bungalows andhotels in the tourist spots.

"There is a need to begin further excavation at Pilak,a 11th century Buddhist archaeological site in South Tripuradistrict and to construct a museum for preservation ofarchaeological articles," he said.

Kumar said Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) hasagreed to give a facelift to Unakoti, a 8th century rock cutcurving and archaeological site, considered as Angkor Wat ofNorth-East.

The state government has put forward a proposal ofintroducing a flight service between Dhaka-Guwahati-Agartalato promote tourism not only in the state but also inNorth-East and Bangladesh.