Under ‘Arth Ganga’, Bithoorto get a tourism makeover

Revised
Kanpur: Bithoor, a religious township of Kannpur Nagar, will be developed as a tourist spot with a budget of Rs 100 crore under the Arth Ganga project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has named this project as Arth Ganga project. Under this project, districts along the stream of river Ganga would be connected with a row-pass cruise. The cruise will not only carry passengers, but also work as freight carriers. There is a hope that after this service, business in the districts situated on the bank of the river would increase.
According to Anupam Srivastava, the tourism officer project worth Rs 100 crore has been cleared. Now, a detailed project report (DPR) will be prepared.
“The tourism department will decorate the ghats of the Ganga and depict the history of Bithoor. Brahmawart Ghat, Pathar Ghat, Druv Teela and other places would be decorated with solar lights and saplings of various species will be planted. Moreover, a Ganga nursery would be set up in which medicinal plants would be grown,” he added.
“The Central government is spending a lot of money in cleaning the river under the Namami Gange project and the ghats of Bithoor have been renovated from the funds released under the project. However, this was not sufficient in view of the tourist department. To attract more tourists, some more development is needed,” he further added.
He informed TOI on Thursday that under this project, one ghat each from Rishikesh (Uttrakhand), Bithoor (Kanpur) and Bhagalpur (Bihar) had been selected to develop them from a tourist point of view. Besides local craft and culture, local recipes will be publicized. Bithoor is a religious place as well as historical place. Therefore, it would be a special attraction for religious tourists.
Tourism would enhance the income of local residents and craft. A cycle track from Dhruv Teela to Paththar Ghat is also proposed. Similarly, an amphitheatre is also planned under the project.
Srivastava stated that on the lines of Haridwar and Varanasi, daily Ganga aarti would be performed here and efforts would be made to keep the river water at ghats even during summers. For tourists and visitors, food courts would be raised in which local prominent sweet shops and others would open their counters. Bithoor was selected due to its religious importance.