A getaway to scenic hills, forests and meadows?

Tourists planning to visit picturesque Ghatshila in East Singhbhum can drop in at the renovated Bibhuti Vihar, a property of Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation that was leased out to Dynamic Tarang Pvt. Ltd, a Ranchi-based private firm, last year.

Named after Bengal's towering literary figure Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, who in his lifetime loved Ghatshila's unspoilt natural beauties, Bibhuti Vihar, which stands on the Ghatshila-Galudih stretch of National Highway 33, is merely an hour's drive from Jamshedpur and takes four hours from Calcutta.

Lakhs have been spent to renovate the tourist complex, a Dynamic Tarang official said.

Now, Bibhuti Vihar has 15 rooms, nine super deluxe air-conditioned ones with a tariff of Rs 1,600 and six deluxe ones without AC at the rate of Rs 1,400 per day. If one takes a super deluxe room but prefers fresh breeze over AC, the tourist complex management charges Rs 1,350.

The tourist complex also has two banquet halls, a spacious lawn for parties and a restaurant.

Arun Kumar Pande, the owner of the leased property, told The Telegraph they took over last August.

"After renovation, we now have full occupancy. Most tourists come from Calcutta and other parts of Bengal. We also get visitors from Jamshedpur," Pande said.

Pande added they would also like to woo the corporate sector with special weekend packages. "We will soon work out package tours, including lodging and food. Sightseeing to picturesque sites such as Burudih Lake, Dharagiri waterfalls, Gouri Kunj, the ancestral house of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, and adjoining areas will be held," Pande said.

The revenues of the tourist complex, which was set up in 2005, was severely hit in the last decade due to rising Naxalite activity in Ghatshila. Subhendu Chatterjee, a former manager of Bibhuti Vihar, recalled tourists would not dare step in even during the peak season between November and January, when Ghatshila's climate is most inviting.

But now, things are looking up. Naxalism has taken a beating.

Rabindra Chatterjee, a Calcutta-based railway employee, who came recently with his family to stay at Bibhuti Vihar, said he loved the place. "The facilities are better than other hotels and tourist lodges in Ghatshila."