Bengal Tourism Minister inaugarates Vedic Village Health Resort

[Guest guest]

Eco-friendly summit centre

- 8 halls, banquet spaces

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta will have its "first eco-friendly conferencing facility" by

the year-end (artist's impression above).

 

State tourism minister Manab Mukherjee laid the foundation stone for

the 60,000-sq-ft convention centre at Vedic Village, the spa-resort

next to Rajarhat, on Tuesday. Work on the Rs 60-crore project will be

over by December, claimed developers Sanjeevani Group.

 

"The convention centre is a unique project, as is Vedic Village,

which gives a whole new dimension to tourism in Calcutta and West

Bengal," Mukherjee said on Tuesday. He added that Vedic Village would

be part of the state contingent at the ITB Fair in Berlin (March 7-

11), the world's largest travel and tourism fair, and figure in the

state presentation.

 

"The idea of a convention centre was conceptualised as we felt there

weren't too many options in eastern India where people could have

access to international standards of conferencing and holding events

of various dimensions," explained Raj K. Modi, managing director,

Sanjeevani Group.

 

Designed by Delhi-based architects Rajiv Agarwal & Associates with

interiors by Total Integrated Design (TID) of Thailand, the

convention centre will have eight halls with space for open-air

banquets to accommodate up to 5,000 delegates. With the bank of rooms

at Vedic Village set to be ramped up to 300 by December, this will be

one of the largest residential convention spaces in the city, the

developers claim.

 

Michael J. Robertson, director & CEO, Vedic Village, said: "The

structure, designed as a building of the future, will be created

under a grass-covered hillock which avoids the urban heat-island

effect of asphalt and tar surfaces in large building structures. The

layer of grass cover on the roof and sides of the building in the

form of a hillock helps regulate temperature naturally and absorbs

and cleans storm water."

 

Delegates can choose from a range of conference venues of varied

sizes, eat organic food at Yagna, indulge in "authentic Bengali"

cuisine at Bhoomi and relax after a hard day's brainstorming at

cocktail bar Agni. Vedic Village also offers tailored de-stress

programmes at the Sanjeeva Spa.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070117/asp/calcutta/story_7269827.asp