Agartala: 100-year-old Pushpabanta Palace to turn into five-star hotel

The proposed hotel will be named Taj Pushpabanta Palace and developed by the Taj group with an estimated cost of Rs 250 crore in the next three years

Agartala: The Tripura government on Friday inked a pact with the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) to turn the Pushpabanta Palace, a royal property, into a world-class five-star hotel, Chief Minister Manik Saha said.

“The government has been in consultation with the IHCL, a Taj group-owned entity to set up a world-class five-star hotel at the Pushpabanta Palace,” he said at a press conference.

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“This is indeed a historic day for the state as the pact was signed on the auspicious occasion of the Holi, the festival of colours,” he said. Industries and Commerce Minister Santana Chakama and Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury were also present at the press meet.

Saha said this was the first time IHCL inked an MoU with any State government to develop a world-class five-star hotel.

“The proposed hotel will be named Taj Pushpabanta Palace and developed by the Taj group with an estimated cost of Rs 250 crore in the next three years,” the Chief Minister said. It will have a total of 104 rooms, of which four will be developed, keeping in mind the lifestyle of the kings.

Asserting that the government wants to promote the history and legacy of the Manikya Dynasty to the global stage, he said the foreign tourists visiting the State will have a clear idea of the dynasty’s history.

Built by Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya Bahadur in 1917, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore stayed at the Pushpabanta Palace and celebrated his birthday during a programme in May 1941.

Claiming that the deal will generate at least 200 direct jobs, the Chief Minister said the move was aimed at promoting the State’s tourism potential at the national and international levels.

On the opposition of Tipra Motha Party (TMP), an ally of the BJP-led coalition government on turning the royal property into a five-star hotel, Saha said a problem is bound to erupt when any good work is initiated, but ultimately it has been solved.

“We have meetings with them (Tipra Motha Party) on the issue and they have agreed to the project leading to the signing of the MoU,” he said.

Saha also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit the northeastern State to inaugurate the redeveloped Tripureswari temple in the Gomati district. He, however, declined to reveal the date of the formal inauguration.