Patna: Chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Monday asked tourism department officials to work in a faster mode and make such an arrangement in the next three to four years that the state govt gets revenue from the department and tourism sector. Right now, the state govt provides money to the tourism department to run its projects, he said.Addressing a tourism department event at the Samvad auditorium in the chief minister’s secretariat, after inaugurating the “Mukhyamantri Bihar Heli-Tourism and Air Tourism Service Scheme-2026”, Samrat said Bihar is not only a land of history and faith but is also moving rapidly towards becoming a strong centre of modern tourism.He asked the officials to engage private parties on the public private partnership mode, speed up projects and ensure to establish Bihar on the world tourism map.While referring to the iconic scene of Bollywood stars Dev Anand and Hema Malini on a ropeway in Rajgir in 1970 in the blockbuster Johny Mera Naam, the chief minister asked the tourism officials to think about ideas like setting up a ropeway from the Patna-based JP Ganga Path to the Hariharnath Temple in Sonepur. “Will it not be the best centre of scenic beauty when people travel through ropeway over the Ganga river?” asked the CM.The CM said helicopter services would be made available for major tourist destinations such as Patna, Rajgir, Valmikinagar and Kaimur under the new scheme. Due to adequate subsidy per ticket being provided by the govt, this facility will be within the reach of common people. “Booking has started from July 13 and regular helicopter services will be operated every Saturday and Sunday from July 18,” he said. The CM also said, “This scheme will mark the beginning of a new era in the state’s tourism sector and will provide the facility of air tourism to ordinary citizens at affordable rates.”Highlighting the phenomenal change in the state’s tourism sector, the CM said when the previous Congress govt allotted a prime land to a private hotel in the state capital, it gave the land at the rate of one rupee per annum. “But now, two big hotels are coming up in Patna. The state govt will get a royalty of about Rs17 crore per annum from the hotel, which will come up on the land of Bankipur bus stand, while about Rs8.5 crore per annum from the hotel coming up on the land of Ashoka Hotel. Similarly, the state govt will be getting royalty of Rs9 crore per annum from a hotel at Bodh Gaya,” the CM said.The CM further said every citizen of Bihar is the state’s biggest brand ambassador. He urged all people to promote Bihar’s rich culture, heritage and tourist destinations positively through their behaviour and hospitality. “When every citizen of Bihar becomes an ambassador of tourism, the state’s identity will become even stronger in the country and the world, and the tourism sector will achieve new heights,” he said.
