Foreign guests at Vibrant Gujarat summit will visit white desert in Kutch: CM

Addressing a public meeting, Patel said the light and sound show will add to the attraction of the annual desert carnival. “From today, the light and sound show is beginning on the watchtower of the white desert. It will be a permanent feature and enhance the glitter of Rann Utsav and its popularity. Foreign guests at the Vibrant Summit are also not (going to) miss visiting this white desert… This is giving a fillip to local employment opportunities and vocal-for-local initiatives.”

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said: “After the devastation of the (2001) earthquake, he not only helped Kutch rise again like a phoenix but the PM, by way of numerous development projects, put Kutch on the map of Gujarat, India and the world. Thanks to his foresight and the resilience of Kutch, Dhordo has now become an international tourism destination. Recently, the World Tourism Organisation had declared Dhordo the best tourism village.”

CM Bhupendra Patel inagurates the new busport in Bhuj, Kutch on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

Patel added that Kutch has been a “super vibrant” participant in Gujarat’s development march. “Be it organising the grand tourism event like the Rann Utsav in the white desert of Dhordo or pumping Narmada water to the last village of Kutch, the world’s biggest hybrid energy park or green ammonia project, Kutch has always been a super vibrant participant in the vibrant development journey of Gujarat.”

In all, the CM laid foundation stones and dedicated public projects worth Rs 252 crore at Bhuj, including the GSRTC bus port. “We had decided to build 15 iconic bus stations. Among them, 10 have become functional and we are adding one more to the list,” he said.

The new bus port, built at a cost of Rs 40 crore, has been constructed on a 12,546 sq m plot. It has 15 arrivals and departure bays for buses, a parking lot of 80,000 sq ft and 200 shops.

Addressing the public meeting, Minister of State for Home and Transport, Harsh Sanghvi, said that the bus port will benefit 25,000 passengers in Bhuj.