The Uttarakhand government will turn George Everest Mussorie house into a museum.
George Everest is the former Surveyor General of India, after whom the world’s highest peak is named into Mount Everest.
His house will now turn into a cartography museum at a cost of Rs24 crore, the state’s tourism secretary said.
“The construction of a cartographic museum is proposed at George Everest and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed soon with the Survey of India in this regard. Under a Rs 24 crore project, the George Everest’s house is being renovated as a tourist spot where eco-friendly log huts, mobile toilets, food vans, open theatre, approach road and a heritage track is being constructed for tourists,” Dilip Jawalkar, secretary for tourism in Uttarakhand.
He further said that by this project, local people will get employment and this heritage site can become attraction for tourists.
Jawalkar said that ”all preparations have been completed for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway at the level of the Department of Tourism. A contractual agreement has been signed with a private firm for this project and work will soon start after environmental clearance from departments concerned”.
The Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway will have a carrying capacity of 1,000 people on a one-way trip. So tourists will be able to cover the distance of around 30 km in just 15 minutes.
“With the construction of this ropeway, on one hand, tourists will be able to enjoy the thrill of air travel while watching the greenery of the mountains and, on the other hand they will be able to avoid the problems of air pollution, carbon emission and traffic jam on the Dehradun-Mussoorie route,” the secretary said.