The Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has barred the entry of vehicles from 25 December to 1 January in order to restrict the crowd in the tourist spot of Maithon Dam, situated at the Bengal Jharkhand border. Personnel from Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guard the dam throughout the year and there are no restrictions in vehicular traffic over the Maithon Bridge which also connects Bengal with Jharkhand.
“The decision has been taken keeping the security and safety of both the tourists, passengers and the dam,” said spokesperson of DVC, Sanjay Priyadarshi. Maithon Dam set upon Damodar river is one of the most popular tourist spots in south Bengal and Jharkhand.
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Every year, lakhs of people visit Maithon Dam during the months of December and January. But the two days, which registers the most traffic are on 25 December and 1 January due to winter picnic season. Previous years, on these particular days, only vehicular traffic has been restricted.
But this year, traffic movement has been barred from 25 December-1 January. Several picnicers visit the dam from both Bengal and Jharkhand, making it very tough to control traffic movement on the Maithon Bridge. Four mini buses from Maithon to Asansol operate daily through this road and will not be able to carry the passengers on the other side.
The Asansol Mini Bus Association claimed that they will face loss due to the decision. Also the Maithon Dam is a high-security zone, so keeping all these in mind the authority of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has issued the notification regarding the restriction. In recent years, there has been added attraction for the tourists, including colourful boats and speedboats. A number of eateries and hotels have also come up in the past few years.
Already, the US-based multinational hospitality major Marriott International has already signed an MoU last year to set up 130 key Fairfield five star deluxe resort by Marriott Maithon at Maithon Dam. A water adventure sports park is also on the pipeline