Munger: District commissioner Pankaj Paul's initiatives to develop the Rishi-Kund natural spring has rekindled hopes among people of the district.

The commissioner recently visited the natural spring.

"The district administration has sent a detailed project report of Rs 20 crore to the tourism department in Patna for the state government's approval and release of funds in connection with all-round development of the Rishi-Kund natural spring," Munger district magistrate Anand Sharma told The Telegraph.

"Mess Sen & Lall Consultants Private Limited (Patna) prepared the detailed project report for development and renovation of the Rishi-Kund natural spring," the DM said. "The project report includes construction of a tourist's corridor, a tourist- facility centre, a yoga and meditation centre, a big place for vehicle parking, two parks - one for VIPs and another for general revellers and a number of other facilities," the Munger DM said.

"I recently visited the spring along with the acting director (technical) Kumar Rajan of Mess. Sen & Lall Consultants Private Limited, Patna, and discussed details of the project report there."

A month-long Malmas Mela is on near the spring.

The spring was a target of Maoists in the past. In an attack there on January 1 in 2006 four Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) jawans lost their lives. Since then, the number of tourists and visitors has sharply fallen. "In the wake of the Maoist attack on the spring in the past, the Munger district administration has decided to set up a permanent police outpost there for the protection of tourists and visitors. There will also be sufficient number of armed police personnel there," the Munger DM said.

Rishi-Kund is a natural spring, just 15km from the Munger district headquarters, between two ridges of the Kharagapur hills.

Tourists and revellers take dips in the reservoir.