Even as chief minister Mamata Banerjee spent the third successive day visiting sea beaches in East Midnapore, speculation were rife in political circles that the CM had zeroed in on the tourism industry as the major revenue earner for the state's frayed coffers.

During the inauguration of the Digha Beach Festival on Friday evening, Mamata had spoken at length over the state's tourism potential. While pressing for the upgrade of existing tourist destinations like Darjeeling, the Sunderbans and Digha, she had also stressed on the need to create new tourist destinations that could cater to both foreign and domestic tourists. However, she also admitted that the funds crunch was hindering her plans to develop and beautify the state as per a report in TOI.

A senior Trinamool Congress politician acknowledged that Mamata had extended her stay in the district to gauge its tourism potential. "She (Mamata) is usually restless and likes to move on. Given the hours she spends on the job, she winds up a district's assessment in two days. Therefore, it is very unusual to see her spend three days in East Midnapore after a day in West Midnapore. She has obviously spotted the region's tourism potential and wants to seize the opportunity," he said.

The keenness and urgency with which the CM had taken administrative decisions on improvement of the tourism industry had stunned many, a state official said. Mamata has already sought two time-bound reports on the tourism potential of Mandarmani and Tajpur. On Saturday, she asked district magistrate Rajiv Kumar to submit within one month a report on how Tajpur can be developed into an international tourist spot without adversely affecting the environment. "At present, Digha is very congested. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop new beaches. Bengal has a decent coastline that extends 35km from Udaipur in New Digha to Tajpur near Contai. The CM wants more spots to be developed," the official said.

After visiting the beach resort in Mandarmani on Thursday and inaugurating the Digha Beach Festival on Friday, Mamata drove down to Tajpur on Saturday and spent a good 25 minutes on the beach. After a leisurely walk on the sands with the entourage in tow, she spoke to local hoteliers and traders and assessed the tourism potential of this relatively virgin beach located 30kms from the crowded Digha.

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