Facing a challenge from the private hotels, the West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation (WBTDC) has decided to upgrade some of its tourist lodges to bring them at par with three star hotels.
A Rs 12-crore project has been chalked out for nine tourist lodges — one each in Jaldapara, Siliguri, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Santiniketan, Kolkata, Digha, Bishnupur and Durgapur.
Tenders for the project were floated in January and work has already started at a few lodges. “We are looking at total renovation. In the first phase, nine lodges will be taken up,” said Managing Director of WBTDC T V N Rao.
The project includes converting non air-conditioned rooms into air-conditioned ones, changing the décor and ambience of restaurants, renovation of kitchens and lending a new look to the interiors. The corporation expects to complete the work at Digha and Jaldapara before the Pujas to cater to the tourist rush.