HPTDC facility to come up in Bilaspur on Manali national highway

Dinesh Kanwar

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Hamirpur, February 5

The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) will develop a state-of-the-art tourist centre at Auhar village near Rishikesh in Bilaspur district.

After the construction of the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane road, Auhar village is the only area on the highway that offers sprawling open space with scenic view of Govind Sagar on one side and high rise mountains on the other. Hence, the HPTDC has decided to make the best use of the location and expand its small café into a wayside tourist amenity that could provide a host of facilities to thousands of tourists travelling to and fro on this highway.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had recently directed the HPTDC to expedite the work and prepare its detailed project report so that the construction of the tourist centre could be initiated at the earliest. Auhar village is strategically located and all vehicles either using the Kiratpur-Manali highway or the Shimla-Mataur road pass through this section.

A survey conducted on the traffic flow had reportedly indicated that over 4,000 vehicles pass through this section of the road everyday, making any tourist facility a profitable venture. The HPTDC has identified over 100 kanals and, if required, the government may acquire additional land at the identified location. The government plans to spend over Rs 125 crore on the project.

Meanwhile, about 50 small eateries have come up between the tunnel number one and the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane road within five months of its opening for traffic.

Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, HPTDC, says that the Chief Minister had directed that the DPR of the tourist centre at Auhar should be prepared at the earliest. When completed, it would be a state-of-the-art tourist facility and a major revenue generator for the corporation.