Agartala, May 06: The previous Communist and Congress government in Tripura had no plans for the state’s tourism. But the present state government is prioritizing the development and promotion of tourism, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha said on Tuesday.

He also commented that the previous governments used the Janajati people only for vote bank politics, but the present government is working for their development.

Addressing an event at Amarpur sub-division in Gomati district, the Chief Minister also said, Tripura is now free of insurgency and peace has been restored in the state, where the tourism sector holds immense potentials. 

After inaugurating and laying foundation stones of several projects worth Rs 210 crore, Dr. Saha said, the state government has planned to introduce a 100-beded Tertiary Eye Hospital in Agartala.

“An Ophthalmology Regional Institute will be set up so that people don’t need to go outside of the state. The land for the proposed facility has already been identified,” he added.  

The Chief Minister also announced that the state government is contemplating a plan to deploy special executives as tourist police in all the tourist spots. Recruitment of 6,067 Special Executives is on the card. The selection process is already over. The aspirants are now waiting for the results.

Dr. Saha said, there are several important tourist destinations in Tripura—Neermahal (water palace), Ujjayanta Palace and several Archaeological sites. He urged the people to promote the state’s tourism sites on social media.

The Chief Minister, accompanied by Tourism minister Sushanta Chowdhury and other officials, visited Chabimura, which is considered to the Amazon of North East. He also inspected the new tourist lodge in the site. 

In Chabimura, he laid foundation stone of a tourism infrastructure project worth over Rs. 67 crore covering, Amar Sagar, Fatik Sagar and Chabimura.

East Tripura MP Kriti Debbarma, Gomati Zilla Sabhadhipati Debal Debroy, MLA Ranjit Das, MLA Pathan Lal Jamatia, MLA Sanjay Manik Tripura, TTAADC Executive Member Dolly Reang, Gomati District Magistrate Tarit Kanti Chakma, and Superintendent of Police Namit Pathak were present in various programmes.