Work on at Amadubi in East Singhbhum.

Jamshedpur, Aug. 7: When wanderlust has driven one to do the rounds of hill stations, sea sides, cruise packages and the like, and when all five-star hotels look alike, it’s time to search for a getaway with a difference.

And if the Jharkhand tourism department has its way, one will not have to look too far.

The department is all set to launch its first rural tourism project at Amadubi, a village in East Singhbhum’s Dalbhumgarh block, 66km from the steel city. Aiming for a September launch, the project will be part of a Union government rural tourism project.

The Achilles Heel of all rural tourism ventures in Jharkhand has been the Maoist hand. But tourism department officials testify to Amadubi’s visitor-friendly antecedents.

“Except during the height of monsoon from June to September, the village attracts visitors, including students. There has never been any untoward incident,” said a senior tourism official.

East Singhbhum rural SP Ranjit Prasad said: “There is no threat to tourists at Amadubi, as the local community is very hospitable.”

Echoing this, tourism officials said that Naxalite threat, if any, could be defused with greater community involvement in the tourism venture.

In fact, it is a win-win situation for the community. “The Centre’s scheme of rural tourism aims to promote local culture to offer sustainable livelihood to villagers,” said Aruna Singh, joint director, state tourism department.

Kalamandir, a city-based NGO, is the chosen nodal agency to implement the project. “We are trying to link rural tourism in Amadubi to the region’s attractions, including Ghatshila, Chakulia and Dalbhumgarh. Not many know that well-known Bengali litterateur Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay and filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak are closely associated with the region,” said Kalamandir secretary Amitava Ghosh.

“While Bandyopadhyay had a home at Ghatshila, Ghatak shot Subernarekha at the deserted airstrips of Chakulia and Dalbhumgarh,” said Kalamandir secretary Amitava Ghosh.

The two-acre ground chosen at Amadubi will have four eco-friendly cottages as well as Swiss tents for people on overnight stay. Cottages will be done up on the style of the architecture of Santhal mud huts. The charm of sun-dappled grounds will be enhanced by a grove of trees such as mohua, karam, palash, neem and kadam, a dhenki or a traditional village rice mill and a gurukul dedicated to teaching pyatkar art.

Food will be served on clay utensils, including rice crispies, jaggery, peetha (a sort of rice dumpling stuffed with mined coconut), chicken khichdi and others with a rural flavour.

And affordable rates will be the added draw. A two-day, one-night stay inclusive of food will cost Rs 1,000 for two, while a complete package with tours to Ghatshila, Galudih, Burudih dam, Guihapat, Chitteshwar, and Bendh would set an individual back by Rs 3,500.

If all goes well, the state tourism department will replicate this model in Deoridih village in Seraikela-Kharsawan and some more villages.