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 as new tourism centres. 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.
“Many forts in the region have sprawling complexes and can transform into the best hotels,” he added.
The directive came a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the Uttar Pradesh government to frame a tourism circuit for people to visit the forts located near the Bundelkhand Expressway.
Pointing out that the Kalinjar Fort is situated in a vast area of 542 hectares, Yogi told the officials to arrange for light & sound shows, camping, trekking, rock-climbing and facade lighting with private partnership.
He also said that many forts are in a dilapidated condition and efforts should be made to revive them. For the lake located in the Talbehat Fort and the Barua Sagar lake, Yogi directed the officials to initiate plans to start water sports and adventure tourism activities.
He told the 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 that the state government would also fund the project as per requirements.
“The project will require interdepartmental coordination and the role of Tourism, Culture, Rural Development, Transport and Civil Aviation departments will be important. While preparing the action plan, the role of all the departments and time frame for their work should be fixed,” he added.