Varanasi: A tent city has been set up on a 100-hectare area opposite the Ganga ghats of Varanasi towards Ramnagar.
It has been developed on the lines of the tent city at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the with the capacity to accommodate 200 people.
The Kashi tent city is equipped with Swiss cottages, broadly of three categories — Ganga Darshan Villas, premium tents and super deluxe tents, officials in the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) said.
The tent city will offer a unique experience to tourists and give them relief from the difficulties associated with finding suitable accommodation during the peak season in the ancient city.
Other than the premium stay and scenic view, the tent city is also equipped with amenities of all sorts, including the facility to carry out religious practices.
Varanasi divisional commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma said, We have established a grand pool on the floating jetty on which people can take holy dip in the Ganga. The bookings for the tent city would start from January 15 onwards.”
The pool on the floating jetty measures 20 feet by 20 feet and is sufficient to accommodate around 25 people at a time.
Besides, there will be a food court to satiate the taste buds of tourists. The tent city would also be packed with gaming zones, riding zones, spa zones and other facilities.
The 900-square feet Ganga Darshan Villas are the largest and can be booked at Rs 20,000 per person for one night and two days.
The river-facing AC villas with a living area have king-size bed, hall and other facilities, including private beach, plunge pool, Rajwadi sofa set, Dining table, study table with lamp, dressing table with chair, mini fridge, TV, geyser, room heater, wardrobe and safety lockers.
Similarly, the package for premium tents and Super Deluxe tents, both measuring 500 square feet, is Rs 14,000 and 12,000 respectively.
Initially, the plan was to complete the work before Dev Deepawali 2022. But, following the prolonged flood-like situation in the Ganga and due to technical reasons, the tent city could not be established in accordance with the initial deadline, officials with VDA said.
As per the records with the UP government in 2022 over seven crore (70 million) tourists visited Kashi.
–IANS