JOIN USTourism has taken a backseat in Bihar due to bad roads. The issue of bad roads, which RJD chief Nitish Kumar used as a plank to win a second term in the 2010 Bihar Assembly polls, has come to the fore again.
The bad condition of roads connecting important places where a majority of people from Buddhist and Jain communities live, has taken the state’s image among tourists to a new low. Foreign tourists reportedly have started giving a negative feedback of their travel experience in these parts.
The Bihar Tour and Travels Association has asked the government to improve the roads in Buddhist and Jain tourism sites.
“Roads are so bad that they leave a bad impression upon tourists,” said association general secretary K P Singh on Tuesday.
Singh said several Buddhist and Jain pilgrim centres in the state are inaccessible due to bad roads. The 22-km stretch from Nawada to Kaolat waterfall is in a state of disrepair, he added.
“Some tourists prefer to walk instead of travelling by car,” he said. However, roads in Bodh Gaya and Nalanda are good. Accommodation facilities at most tourist destinations are also in a bad shape.