CCTV cameras and watch towers are coming up on the 12.5-km trekking route at Saraswatipur, which connects the mega tourism hub at Gazoldoba with Bengal Safari: North Bengal Wild Animal Park near Salugara in Siliguri.

State tourism minister Gautam Deb said such a system will be in place for the security of tourists.

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“There will be two drop gates, four watch towers, and CCTV camera monitoring system will be installed for the security of the tourists. These will be functional before the Durga Puja,” Mr Deb said today.

Sources said two drop gates will be erected–one at Salugara and another at Gazoldoba–mainly to restrict the movements of heavy vehicles. The watch towers will be set up in every three kilometers of the stretch for the safety and security of the tourists inside the forests.

The forest department had undertaken the construction of the road with an estimate budget of Rs 4.5 crore.

More than 10 state government departments are working in tandem on the mega tourism project at Gazoldoba

Meanwhile, the tourism department is planning to develop tourism circuits, centering Siliguri, by taking up several projects. Mr Deb said the department had laid focus on building the infrastructure of the new projects as the inflow of tourists was on the rise.