Governor Lt Gen (retd) Ajai Singh at the Accoland Park on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Sept 22: Assam governor Lt Gen. (retd) Ajai Singh today said only a joint public-private initiative could bring about fast change and development to Guwahati.

Inaugurating Accoland Family Fun Kingdom, the first amusement park in the city, Gen. Singh said the attitude and mindset of “sab kuch government karenge” must change.

According to the governor, if huge private investments as in the case of the Accoland park comes in the future, the government is ready to offer all its help and co-operation.

Spread over 45 bighas at Patgaon near Rani reserve forest in the suburbs, the park has many thrills, including family and children’s rides.

The water body within the park will have facilities for boat rides while the overhead monorail will provide the visitors with a bird’s eye view of the park. For food lovers there are eateries, which will serve everything from fast food to a big leisurely meal.

The park will have a lawn for organising parties and receptions, an open-air stage and an exhibition ground.

An arcade will be built and skill games for adults launched in a month’s time. In the water park section, rides and slides will be added by next summer.

Expressing surprise as to how Guwahati’s huge tourism potential remained untapped for so long, Singh said considering the limited possibility of obtaining funds from government sources, there is an urgent need to look for alternative financial sources for faster growth and development of Guwahati along the lines of other metros.

He said the involvement of the private sector would have other advantages, such as brining new technology, better operational maintenance, sharper management skills, efficient and optimum use of available resources and better service delivery. Assam minister of state for tourism Misbahul Islam Laskar echoed the governor’s opinion, saying the government has already planned to execute several tourism development projects with private players.

“The suburbs will be turned into tourism destinations soon. Besides the amusement park, an elephant village, modelled on the ones in Thailand and Singapore, is taking shape on the outskirts of Rani forest reserve to house tame elephants and host tourists. Deepor Beel is also being turned into a tourist destination,” Laskar said.

Gautam Bhattacharyya, managing director of Accolade Amusement Private Ltd, said the company was apprehensive about the ground situation in the city before they decided on investing. He said the park would not have been built without the co-operation of the government and the local people.