HIDCO to launch day cottages in Eco Urban village

For those who want to enjoy nature amidst abundant sunlight, West Bengal Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) is coming up with day cottages at its Eco Urban village.

Such cottages are available in sea resorts in India and are very popular among tourists in the west where they spend the whole day amidst sun and sand and enjoy nature.

Debashis Sen, chairman of WBHIDCO said four day cottages would be set up in the Eco Urban village. The charges would be Rs 500 for two people.

The cottages would be made of straws. There will be ethnic furniture made out of simple style. The tourists can come in the morning, spend some time in the cottage and then go for cycling or enjoy the water body.

There is a small place in the Eco Urban village where cultural programmes are held. The whole area looks like a village amidst city. It may be recalled that WBHIDCO had organised some hitherto forgotten sports like guli (marble), dang guli, lattu (top) at the Eco Urban Village last year to give the youngsters a taste of the games that used to be played.

The Eco Urban village is situated close to Prakriti Tirtha formerly known as the Eco Park. The park has a huge water body and over 52 lakh people have visited the site since its inception.

The gardens, toy train and Café Ekante and House boat restaurant have become very popular. There are few cottages which remain full during winter. People come to enjoy the sun rise in New Town along with its calm and serene atmosphere.

Suchetana Dasgupta, social psychologist who has specialised in leisure said because of stress and busy schedule in day to day life, people were looking for places where they could come close to nature and spend some hours there. “Over the years, the vacation pattern has changed in India and long vacations have been replaced by short trips,” she said.

She welcomed the move of WBHIDCO and said in winter many people would love to spend the day in Eco Urban Village where besides leisure there will be scope for physical activity like cycling. The environment will give a chance to relax and enjoy nature, she remarked.

Sen said the cottages would be opened within a couple of months and expected people to visit them during winter.