Bengal considering proposal to revamp trams

The West Bengal government is considering a proposal to revamp and run Kolkata trams on a public-private-partnership (PPP) mode to attract tourists, state Tourism Minister Gautam Deb said here on Thursday.

The Travel Agents Federation of India has pitched an idea to the state government to let it run the eco-friendly mode of transport and rent them out for special events, he said.

"We have received the proposal from them and we are examining it. It is a good proposal and we will take a call on it soon," Deb told IANS.

According to TFAI's Chairman, Eastern Region, Anil Punjabi, the proposal aims at reviving tram culture and weave it in the tourism narrative.

"The idea is to revamp them, maintain them, add entertainment inside and giving them for events like birthdays, weddings etc, so that they don't die off," Punjabi told the media here on the sidelines of the announcement of "Indo-US Promotion of Travel & Tourism" convention in the city.

"From the travel agents side, TAFI has given the proposal to the state government to run the trams under a public-private-partnership. We are waiting to hear from them in a fortnight," he said.

This apart, the travel agents have also suggested starting a Tollywood (region film industry) studios tour.

Run by the Calcutta Tramways Company, the first horse-drawn trams rolled out in 1873 and the electric trams chugged off in 1902.

The company tram services in 25 routes in the city spanning a network spread within a radius of about 10 km from the centre of the city.

--IANS

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