Floating restaurants soon

These restaurants, with all necessary luxuries, will cruise in the sea waters right from Narayan Sarovar in Kutch to South Gujarat.

Mehta said one such floating hotel on a huge ship would be introduced in a year. He said such hotels could be set up in the private or joint-venture sector, and added that the Tata Consultancy has prepared a project report for the coastal tourism development.

Mehta said private parties were coming forward to invest in a big way in the tourism sector and a whopping Rs 1,000 crore was expected by the turn of the century. He said the Government had received 104 proposals involving private investment of Rs 450 crore.

Since the government has accorded industrial status to tourism, the private sector has shown interest in setting up amusement parks, multiplex complexes and luxurious hotels all over the State besides a ropeway at Girnar, Mehta said.

Encouraged by substantial concessions given to private parties for the development of heritage tourism, 15 more heritage institutions will be set up next year, he said, endorsing a suggestion by Urvashi Devi of the Congress that tourists could now obtain provisional liquor permits at the Ahmedabad airport, for which they had to go to the Prohibition and Excise office near the New Mental Hospital in Meghaninagar in Ahmedabad.

Replying to the debate on the budgetary demands of the Information Department, Minister of State for Home Haren Pandya said the government would prepare more TV documentary films highlighting the role of leading lights in the country8217;s freedom movement.

Pandya said the Bharatiya Janata Party Government was 8220;media-friendly8221; and committed to the progress and development of the print media.

There are 125 dailies, and about 1,500 weeklies, fortnightlies and monthlies being published from the State, he added.