Not taking any chances after the serial blasts that rocked Bodh Gaya last month, the Centre is pumping in money to redevelop five major railway stations, which attract large number of religious tourists.
The Ministry of Tourism has, together with Ministry of Railways, undertaken joint development of railway stations of Agra, Amritsar, Gaya, Rae Bareli and Trivandrum.
“We plan to work closely with the Railways Ministry to redevelop these stations. Besides, improving the tourist amenities on the stations, which include beautifying and cleaning the platforms, we will also work on plugging the security gaps. We have suggested the installation of CCTV cameras and deployment of more guards and tourist advisory desks at the station,” said an official from the Tourism Ministry.
“Tourism activity has taken a lot of beating this year because of the unprecedented rainfall in hill States and acts of terror in religious places. Neat and friendly stations will also go a step further in rebuilding tourist confidence in the places,” official said. Tourism Ministry has assured an assistance of close of Rs 26.5 crore for the project. A chunk of the fund, Rs 10.28 crore has been allotted towards rebuilding Amritsar and Rae Bareli, Rs 5.98 crore for Trivandrum, Rs 5.18 crore for Gaya and Rs 5.05 crore has been provided for Agra.
As part of the joint initiative, Ministry of Railways shall make land for the project available free of cost and render all possible assistance for completion of the project on time. Ministry of Railways shall set up a monitoring committee with a member from the Ministry of Tourism to monitor physical and financial progress of the above projects.
“These rebuilding efforts have been long pending. Most of these stations have not undergone much change since their inception. Modern isation alongside security augmentation is need of hour,” official said.