Silchar: An Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) team will meet Union tourism ministry officials in New Delhi on Thursday to highlight the potential of Son Beel in Karimganj district.

Samip Kumar Das, co-ordinator with news agency Hindustan Samachar, said the team, including the ATDC chairman Jayanta Mallah Baruah and vice-chairman Navadeep Kalita, will deliver a presentation and urge ministry officials to take steps to develop Son Beel into a tourism hotspot.

Das read an article on Son Beel in a local Bengali magazine, Prabaha, in August last year following which he met Baruah, who instructed Kalita to visit the lake and prepare a report.

Kalita subsequently inspected the wetland on November 21 last year and submitted a report, which was sent to the tourism ministry. Eventually, Baruah and Kalita got an invitation from the ministry for a meeting, Das said.

Prabaha editor Ashish Nath said Das had contacted him to learn more about Son Beel. Das then apprised Baruah, who took steps to send a report to Delhi, he said.

Assam fisheries minister Parimal Suklabaidya said efforts are on to develop Son Beel into an eco-tourism site. He said his department had conducted inspections/field studies to assess the lake's condition. Steps will be taken for its development soon, he added.

A recent study by a team found the depth of Son Beel had decreased over the years.

M. Choudhury, who lives near Son Beel and one of the team members, said the lake area can become a tourism hotspot and efforts should be made for its overall development.

The lake can be useful for fish farming, as it is home to various varieties like rohu, chital, pabda, boal and mrigal and play a vital role in boosting the economy of the district, he said.

Local farmers and fishermen will immensely benefit once the lake is developed, he added.

Son Beel, considered the second largest wetland in Asia, is around 65km from here and 327km from Guwahati.