Tourism in Junglemahal to get a boost

20 December 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 20 DEC: The tourism industry in Junglemahal, comprising parts of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts, which has been hit by the Maoists menace for the past three years, shows sign of recovery from the new year.
The morale of security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operation got a boost following the killing of top Maoist leader Kishenji in an encounter. The leader's death, in turn, has put the rebels on the back foot. “Now, they (Maoists) don't have strength to be reorganised here. Those who have managed to escape during operations are now hiding in forests of neighbouring states. And villagers, who had once supported the rebels, have now turned against them,” said a senior official of Counter Insurgency Force (CIF).
Hotels and resorts in several tourist spots in West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia, which reported zero per cent occupancy until a few months ago, have started feeling the presence of tourists in this winter season.
Admitting that the Maoist activities had affected tourism industry in the area, an official of the state tourism department said: “It was a political and law and order problem. It had negative impact on the tourism industry in these districts and we can only hope that normalcy will soon return in the area and the tourist inflow will increase again.”
The district administration is taking several measures to boost the tourism industry in the area. “We are developing various packages to boost tourism in our district and these will be announced soon. We are getting into the aspects of eco-tourism, village tourism and community participation,” an official said.
Whether it is the forested areas of Jhargram, the picturesque Mukutmonipur on the confluence of the Kangshabati and Kumari rivers or the Ayodhya Hills in Purulia, tourists were afraid of visiting the places for the frequent violence and bandhs called by the Maoists.
“Though there has never been a single attack on tourists, fear of unwanted trouble had kept travellers away from visiting the areas,” said Mr Manik Mahato, a hotel owner of Jhargram. This apart, burning of some forest rest houses and bungalows, including ones at Kakrajhor in West Midnapore and Duarsini in Purulia, had only added to the fear of tourists, Mr Mahato said. “The number of tourists has started falling since November 2008 and we now depend on sales representatives of different companies and traders who come here for business,” said a representative of Doolung Guest House in Jhargram.
According to official estimates, around 2,000 people used to visit Mukutmonipur everyday during the winter season, but since the 2008 incident, this has come down to less than half. Travel operators said the situation is same in Jhargram which once saw hundreds of visitors.