By IANS,
Mumbai : Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has invited Switzerland’s famed Jungfrau Railways to explore the possibility of setting up railway projects at strategic locations in the state to boost tourism.
An aide to the the chief minister told IANS here that Deshmukh extended an invitation to Jungfrau president and chief executive Urs Kessler when the two met at Interlaken, Switzerland, Monday evening.
Deshmukh urged Kessler to set up similar railways in Maharashtra’s cold regions like Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani and Matheran, which could give a fillip to tourism in the state.
Jungfrau, the world’s most famous mountain railway network has the technical expertise to set up high altitude railway lines, Deshmukh said.
Kessler assured Deshmukh that accompanied by a team of technical experts, he would visit the state soon for the purpose.
Deshmukh explained that the state has immense potential to attract investment in the tourism sector with a 720-km-long coastline with pristine beaches, hill stations, dense forests, forts and palaces.
The state also has several world heritage sites, including the Ajanta-Ellora Caves near Aurangabad and the Elephanta Caves, on an isle in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai, which attract tourists from all over round the year, he added.
Chief Secretary Johny Joseph, Principal Secretary in Chief Minister’s Office S. Kshatriya and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corp director J. Gaikwad accompanied Deshmukh during the discussions with Kessler.
Deshmukh, accompanied by a high-level delegation, is currently on a 10-day European tour seeking mega investments for the state.