The Union tourism ministry has assured to fund an integrated tourist project covering significant travel destinations of Puri, Konark, Chilika, Raghurajpur, Bhubaneswar old town, Dhauli and Barkul in Odisha.
The ministry has also pledged to extend all possible support including providing consultancy services to position Odisha as an attractive tourist destination and promote the state's majestic sites.
The assurance was made by Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay during his meeting with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in New Delhi on Monday.
Sahay also agreed to sanction one more institute of hotel management for the state. Odisha had demanded the institute given the growing requirement of hotel management graduates in the state.
Patnaik's demand for introduction of a Buddhist train to connect the sites of Buddhist religious import also found favour with the Union tourism ministry which promised to take up the matter with the Ministry of Railways, expressing hope that it would materialize during the winter of 2012.
Further on the connectivity front, Sahay said the committee under the chairmanship of joint secretary (tourism) will meet shortly to consider the proposal for restoring Bhubaneswar in the Delhi-Varanasi flight.
