PUDUCHERRY: uducherry, Jan 21 : In a bid to draw more tourists to Puducherry, “House Boat” facility is being introduced at Chunnambar Boat House by month end.
Announcing this at a press conference on Thursday, Tourism Minister P.Rajavelu along with Director Tourism Munnusamy said that the House boat is being launched in association with Mantra House Boat Pvt. Ltd. Pondicherry Tourism Development Corporation(PTDC) had entered into an agreement with Mantra House Boat Pvt. Ltd. for construction of the House Boat and running the facility at Chunnambar Boat House.
The House Boat having dimensions of 99 feet by 17 feet is almost complete and would be inaugurated by Chief Minister on Jan 28 (tentative). PTDC has allowed the firm to utilise its shore for building House Boat and allotted 2400 sq. feet of land for constructing hut like structure for the usage of tourists who could to travel in the House Boat. The entire expenditure of Rs 70 lakhs to build the House Boat was borne by Mantra House Boat Ltd. .
The House Boat consists of two decks comprising of a lower deck having three A.C rooms attached with rest room, a dining hall, a kitchen existing. One of the rooms is in French style , while the others are traditional architecture said R Annu, Director of Mantra House Boat Ltd. . In the upper deck, has a mini conference room for conducting meeting and recreational events. Apart from that, the House Boat is equipped with TV, Music Player, sophisticated furniture for the benefit of travelers. The ticket rate is Rs.10,000 per room per day for two persons including food, while for the conference room it is Rs 2000 per head. The vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes will be prepared and served immediately on demand.
The House Boat will travel to paradise island with the occupants and then go around the backwaters and return back to the boat house travelling a distance of around four kilometres. . For safety measures, the House Boat is fitted with fire-fighting equipment and sufficient number of life jackets. Further, medical facilities and expert swimmers are also made available.
The corporation will get a minimum amount of Rs.20,000 per month or will get maximum of Rs.45,000 when all the rooms are occupied throughout the month.