Romantic retreat: A tourist bungalow at McCluskieganj

Ranchi, Nov. 23: McCluskieganj, one of the most romantic remnants of the Raj for its significant Anglo-Indian population, will soon tell the world that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Situated 60km from Ranchi, the sleepy town founded in the early 1930s still boasts British-styled cottages, picturesque greenery and the winding Dugadugi river. Earlier, tourists would stay with Anglo-Indian families for free.

But now, the state tourism department proposes to change all this. Under its proposed plan, the department will put up visitor-friendly infrastructure such as a tourist information centre, a restaurant, six jungle cottages, five kiosks and two budget dormitories with seven beds each. A detailed project report has already been prepared with the total cost pegged at Rs 2 crore.

Around Rs 50 lakh has already been spent to construct the information centre and dormitories, for which work is on at a steady pace, said department officials. State tourism director Siddharth Tripathy said construction work in the first phase of the project was on in full swing and would be complete by December-end. Jungle cottages would be in synergy with the town’s natural bounty, he said.

“Six cottages with star facilities on the inside and mud walls and tiled roofs outside will give the best of both worlds to the guest — rustic charms without compromising on comfort factor. We have floated a tender for construction of cottages, which we hope to complete by next June,” the director added.

Of the 350 Anglo-Indian families who answered Ernest Timothy McCluskie’s call to settle here in the 1930s, only about 23 remain and the town seems to be hiding in the umbra of development. But sounding upbeat, the tourism director said they wanted to make the colonial town one of the most sought-after tourist magnets. “We want to revive the town’s lost glory,” he said.

What about security threats? Incidents of robbery and snatching have been reported in recent years, which also played its part in reducing the flood of tourists to a trickle. But the local administration has been assigned to improve law and order.