Boats bob idly in the waters of Burudih lake while the cafeteria (bottom) wears a deserted look. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, March 29: Nobody comes to the once-bustling cafeteria any more and the boats bob forlornly in the waters of the dam for want of takers. Till recently a tourist favourite, Burudih appears to have been well and truly abandoned by visitors, scared away by Maoist activity in the area.

Burudih had everything going for it at one time — a picturesque setting and infrastructure provided by the state tourism department. That was before the Naxalites moved in and tourists began to look for safer destinations. The few who braved the Maoists till recently stopped coming after anti-Naxalite operations began early this month in Ghatshila sub-division.

“Not a single tourist has turned up at Burudih this month. This time last year, tourists, though very few in number, had still come from different parts of the state and neighbouring Bengal. But the situation is different this year. The fear of Maoists coupled with the police operations have kept potential visitors away,” said Mangal Hembram, the village head of Burudih.

Hembram pointed out that in the absence of tourists, the gates of the cafeteria complex, spread over an acre, remains shut. The cafeteria was constructed at a cost of Rs 32 lakh, provided by the state tourism department, in 2007. It comes complete with a children’s play area and landscaped garden.

The boats at the Burudih dam also lie idle. Former local Congress MLA Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu had provided requisite funds for introducing boating facilities at the picturesque Burudih lake. Today the five pedal boats have no one to ferry.

“The inflow of tourists has definitely reduced in the wake of Maoist violence. The ongoing operation only compounded the problem. However, we are making efforts to win back the confidence of tourists. We are optimistic that the situation would change for the better, after all Ghatshila has immense tourism potential,” said Anup Birtharay, sub-divisional police officer of Ghatshila.

Ghatshila has always been a favourite of tourists from Bengal. However, the brutal killing of JMM parliamentarian Sunil Mahto at Baguria in 2007 sounded the first death knell of the tourist trade in the region. Since then the number of tourists, especially from Bengal, has only dwindled.

The Burudih dam lies between two hilly ridges, about 10km from Phuldungri in Ghatshila. Police and paramilitary force have taken control over the area ever since anti-Naxalite operations began on March 8.