Udupi: A Tourist Destination with Ample Potential - Manipal Nature Park
News and Pics by Hemanath Padubidri
For Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (RD/CN)
Udupi, Nov 6: Lush green vegetation of over 110 acres and a lake covering 60 acres—a potential tourist hotspot. Found along the way to Manipal Heritage Village, this lake was developed around five years ago as a boating facility with six pedal boats, one cycle boat, and a mechanized boat.
Although targeted at tourists, students of nearby colleges were its most frequent visitors particularly on weekends. A committee of 12 officers was formed under the chairmanship of the deputy commissioner (DC) to oversee the development of the lake. Several more projects were undertaken with financial assistance from Manipal Rotary Club and the district-in-charge minister’s fund.
As a result, a children’s playground, open air theater, and a 2.5 km jogging track have come up here. A blueprint has also been prepared which includes proposals such as illumination of the entire area, setting up of a garden for picnics, planting of trees in the middle of the lake to attract migratory birds, and building of an exhibition gallery for displaying pre-Independence era pictures.
If all these are undertaken at the earliest, Manipal Nature Park will soon become a reality bringing revenue to the district and providing ample job opportunities for the locals.