Bengal to launch audio city guide for U-17 World Cup

In view of the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup starting from October 6 across six cities in India, the West Bengal government has planned to prepare an audio city guide in various foreign languages, an official said here on Wednesday.

The tourist audio guide will be available in six languages -- English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Portuguese and French.

"We have planned to prepare the audio city guide. It will be played in WBTC (West Bengal Transport Corporation) buses from October 3. This is part of a comprehensive plan for tourist support during the FIFA World Cup," Atri Bhattacharya, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department, told reporters.

The audio is being prepared by the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, another official from the department said.

As many as 180 buses would be added to the existing fleet strength before the World Cup commences. England will take on Chile on October 8 at the Salt Lake Stadium on October 8 to open the Kolkata leg of the Cup matches.

Kolkata will host 10 matches, including the final on October 28.

The state government is also in discussions with colleges for finding "citizen volunteers" who will be responsible to guide the foreigners visiting the city.

The state Tourism Department has, meanwhile, launched a mobile app ahead of the Durga Puja festival. The app is made for easier access to puja pandals, real time traffic updates, pictures of talked-about pandals and so on.

--IANS

bdc-dm/ajb/vt