Hyderabad to launch houseboats at Durgam Cheruvu
HYDERABAD: The Telangana Tourism department is planning to introduce houseboats in Hyderabad to offer a new experience to city residents and tourists.
As part of the initiative, the department has selected Durgam Cheruvu and Hussain Sagar for the project. Officials have drawn up an action plan to operate Kerala-style houseboats that allow visitors to cruise through the lake and stay overnight on board.
Six houseboats will be set up at Durgam Cheruvu and two on a pilot basis at Hussain Sagar. Each boat will have two double bedrooms, enabling families to travel together and stay overnight. Food and basic amenities will be provided, and canteen facilities will be arranged on the boats.
In recent months, there has been increased public interest in spending weekends and evenings with family. Taking note of this trend, the tourism department has revived the houseboat proposal.
PPP model under consideration for operations
Officials are studying revenue models and operational mechanisms. The department is considering whether to operate the boats directly or hand over operations to private players under the Public-Private Partnership model.
Discussions are under way on whether the operator should build the boats or whether they should be manufactured in places such as Goa and transported to Hyderabad. Tenders for the project are expected to be invited soon.
Government clears boats at nine more locations
At present, 99 boats operate in rivers and lakes across 19 districts in the state. In view of tourist demand, the government has approved new boating facilities at nine more locations.
These include Pargi, Jonnalaboguda, Wardhavelli, Rayagiri, Parnasala, Bhadrachalam, Borancha and Nizamsagar. Tourism officials said the new projects are expected to increase revenue and attract more domestic and international tourists.
Boating activities alone have generated ₹13 crore in revenue.
