The state’s pastime in heritage residences has enthused non-public promoters in the journey and tourism sector.
“Bengal has the whole lot — from the Himalayas to the mangroves of the Sunderbans, dense forests and beaches in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas. If we can promote rajbaris and zamindar baris as well, it will increase overseas and interstate tourism in Bengal,” said Debjit Dutta, chairman (Bengal), India Association of Tour Operators. G M Kapur, a heritage expert, said the government’s efforts would gain tourism in heritage properties.
Around 225km from Kolkata, Bari Kothi in Azimganj, Murshidabad, a six-and-half-hour power from the city, has been converted into a tourist destination. Built in the late 1700s, it was the house of Rai Bahadur Budh Sing Dudhoria. It lay abandoned for greater than half a century, after which seventh-generation descendant Darshan Dudhoria, a lawyer, restored it and turned it into a ‘heritage’ hotel. “We provide a total ride of the district, which includes nearby tours, visits to rural monetary and traveller hubs, and tales of the wealthy cultural heritage of Bengal,” Dudhoria said.
Also in Murshidabad, the Roy household of Cossimbazar Palace has converted their ancestral home into a boutique hotel. “Four months ago, tourism branch officials visited and discussed some principal promotional and developmental plans. It will be super if the country promotes the ‘rajbari experience’ in Bengal, like some different states do, which will help in large-scale protection of various such properties,” stated Pallab Roy, a member of the Roy family.
The Jhargram Rajbari, too, had been functioning as a heritage resort given that 2015, said a tourism reliable who brought that it used to be being run on the PPP model. The tourism department plans to convert Wasif Manzil close to Hazar Duari in Murshidabad, and the Karnagarh Rani Shiromani Guest residence in Salboni into heritage hotels on the PPP model.
Closer to Kolkata, Itachuna and Bawali Rajbari in Hooghly and South 24 Parganas have been transformed into heritage hotels. While the former has already been featured in a wide variety of famous Hindi and Bengali movies, the latter, simply 40km from the city, underwent large-scale restoration lately and has emerged a popular weekend destination.