'Woo those tourists here!'

The Estimates committee came down hard on the State government yesterday for neglecting the city's tourism potential, instructing it to develop facilities at spots like Juhu, Versova and Gilbert Hill

Presenting its report before the state legislature yesterday, the Estimates Committee pulled up the State government for dragging its feet in the matter of developing tourism potential in the city.


The state government has been asked make the seacoasts
easily accessible to tourists, by constructing skywalks

It directed the government to provide basic amenities for tourists at several beaches, as well as construct skywalks to facilitate the public's easy movement towards the seacoasts.

The committee, comprising 30 members from the ruling and Opposition parties and headed by NCP member Dilip Mohite, lamented the lackadaisical attitude displayed by the state government in developing tourist attractions in the city.

The committee pointed out the absence of basic facilities like toilets and shelters in Juhu and Versova beaches, in spite of the fact that lakhs of tourists throng the spots every day. The committee also rapped the state government for not constructing skywalks leading to beaches.
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The committee also pointed out that no pavements had been constructed in the 6-km-long coastal stretch at Juhu, Santacruz, Seven Bungalows and Versova, in spite of the fact that the MMRDA had set aside funds for the same.
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The state government was also asked to speedily construct skywalks at Four Bungalows, Seven Bungalows and DN Nagar, to facilitate the public's movement towards the seacoasts.

The government was also reprimanded for the the slow pace of development work at a 16-acre park in Juhu Koliwada, which the committee claimed exposed the plot to the threat of encroachment.

Speaking of Andheri's Gilbert Hill, the committee pointed out that though it is unique in being the only known monolith apart from the Devil's Tower in the US, nou00a0 skywalk had been constructed to enable tourists to reach its summit. The committee suggested that a ropeway be constructed in the open spaces of DN Nagar, leading to it.

The committee has also expressed surprise over the fact that the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation does not have an office in Mumbai, the state's capital, especially while the state celebrated 2011 as its Tourism Year.