Ranchi, Dec. 12: First, shikara rides. Then, a Chokhi Dhani makeover. Now, a high-end resort with endless amusement options.
Over the past decade, the picturesque Hatia Dam has been stranded between ambitious plans and wasteful expenditure without any fruitful outcome.
Although a stone-block embankment has come up along with a motorable road in the last few years, other amenities such as kiosks, boats and benches are either gathering dust or have vanished.
In a fresh development, the state tourism department is now working on a plan to convert the reservoir area in Dhurwa, on the outskirts of the capital, into a resort destination, a move that officials maintain will draw both local and outstation visitors.
Along with Hatia Dam, two more potential hot spots - Tilaiya Dam in Koderma and Maithon Dam in Dhanbad - are on the resort and recreation radar. An amusement park is also on the cards to spice up visitor experience at Kanke Dam in Ranchi.
All these projects are expected to come up in public-private partnership mode, a popular coinage in recent times to justify the source of funding, notwithstanding the state's consistent failure in the matter.
The tourism department today floated expressions of interest, inviting interested agencies - primarily companies or individuals associated with the hospitality sector - to take up these projects. To build confidence among investors, a preliminary meeting has been lined up at a city hotel on December 20.
Tourism director Waghmare Prasad Krishna said the projects were a part of government policy decisions to boost tourism taken before he took charge earlier this year.
"The department has sincerely started pursuing these plans. All these spots are perfect places to host resorts. There are around eight solid acres around each of these water bodies and the land is in the department's possession. During the December 20 meeting, we intend to get concept notes, ideas, feedback from agencies and potential stakeholders, and also address their concerns, if any, to catalyse the projects," he said.
Krishna said Hatia Dam and the other reservoirs already had basic infrastructure, such as toilets, food court, exhibition area and open space for cultural programmes. "Private players will play a key role in these projects because they will have to run and manage the shows," he added.