Thousands of tourists visit Deoghar during the Shravani mela every year

Jamshedpur, May 31: Devotees visiting the famous “Shravani Mela” in Deoghar this year can look forward to a cushy pilgrimage.

The state tourism department has decided to leave no stone unturned to ensure maximum comfort for tourists.

At a meeting in Ranchi today, newly-appointed tourism director Nidhi Khare asked officials of the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the state’s tourism consultant, to co-ordinate with state tourism directorate to refurbish all the three tourist lodges — Nataraj Vihar, Vaidyanath Vihar and Basuki Vihar in Deoghar.

The deplorable condition of the hotels is hampering the revenue generation of the tourism department. The much-hyped “Shravani mela”, which witnesses convergence of lakhs of tourists from various parts of the country and abroad every year will start from July 5 and continue for a month.

The mela is organised during the month of Shravan. Devotees flock to the place to offer prayers to the Lord Shiva at the temple.

The seemingly placid town swarms with devotees, many of whom do not find proper places to put up.

As a result, the pilgrims are sometime forced to camp in the railway station or pitch tents on the roadside. The high-end devotees run from pillar-to-post looking for decent accommodation.

Khare said the tourist hotels run by the Jharkhand State Tourism Development Corporation (JSTDC) will be decked up and all necessary facilities will be made available to the tourists during the mela.

According to her, the hotels, for the first time, will offer different menus to suit the gastronomic preferences of the tourists coming from various parts of the country and abroad.

Besides, she said efforts are also being made to hire vehicles on contract so that tourists can be taken in and around the town to visit the local tourist sites.

The tourism director said she has also sought a list of about 100 people from the deputy commissioner of Deoghar, who will set up temporary roadside dhabas during the fair.

Experts from various hotel management institutes, including the Indian Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM), will be roped in to train the dhaba-owners on basic etiquette and public relation so that tourists do not have any problem in dealing with them.

“We are stressing on local participation and are making efforts to involve the local people in the tourism economy. The dhaba owners will be the local residents and they will be taught a variety of cuisine, so that tourists coming to Deoghar feel at home,” Khare said.

Senior ITDC official A.B. Kumar said before the Shravani Mela begins, the corporation will make arrangement to harvest rainwater at the three government-owned tourist lodges to tackle the water crisis. The approach roads to various tourist sites near Deoghar will be revamped and glow signboards will be installed before the fair gets underway, he added.