Neermahal, a prime tourist attraction, which is now inaccessible due to huge presence of  water hyacinth (kachuripana) in the Rudrasagar Lake, the Tripura government  has decided to undertake a major cleaning drive in the lake to restore boat services in the hot tourist destination of the state  to attract tourists.

The sparkling lake has been engulfed by water hyacinths causing the suspension of boat rides on the wetland and hundreds of boatmen who used to carry tourists on their boats have lost their livelihood because of the situation.

Tourism Minister Sushanta Chowdhury  along with top officials of Toursim department visited Rudra Sagar on Tuesday and reviewed the situation.

The director of the Tourism department,  Tapan Kumar Das said after visiting the lake, the minister held meetings with the officials of the forest department, sub-division and the Melaghar Municipal Council to discuss how to clean the lake.

He said that a  major cleaning drive will begin to clear the hyacinths from the lake to restore the lake's glory. The tourism department will provide funds to Melaghar Municipal Council to execute the plan.

Rudrasagar has been engulfed by hyacinths as there is a bar on development works due to the Parliamentary elections but the government will soon clear the lake so that the tourists can enjoy the boat ride on the lake.

The Neermahal, a wetland of national importance, is the only lake palace in Eastern India. The department want to upkeep it properly as it is the pride of the state. Not only in the country, Neermahal and Rudra Sagar, are favourite tourist destinations for the people of foreign nations too, said Das.