Tenders issued twice yet no bids for water sports activities, cafeteria in Larji Lake

Efforts to start water sports activities and operate a cafeteria at the Larji Lake in Kullu district have not been successful so far. The office of the Tourism Department, Kullu, has issued tenders several times but received no bids.

According to official sources, the District Tourism Development Officer’s office in Kullu had issued tenders on March 15 and May 1 this year for the operation of water sports activities and a cafeteria at the Larji Lake. However, no bids were received from any interested parties. The District Magistrate, Kullu, and the president of the Water Sports Society, Larji, at a meeting on July 16, had decided to issue separate tenders for water sports activities and the cafeteria to attract bidders.

“The situation has been complicated by the damage caused to the infrastructure developed for water sports on the Larji-Aut bypass during the monsoon this year. An estimated Rs 1.13 crore is required for the repair work, according to the District Magistrate’s assessment report. The matter is under government review to determine the appropriate course of action,” the sources said.

Banjar MLA Surender Shourie had recently raised the issue of delay in the operation of water sports activities in the Larji Lake in the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla. In response to his question, the state government said, “The cafeteria was completed on December 31, 2023, but was yet to become operational as no party had shown interest in running it. The state government is now considering two options: Either task the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) with operating the cafeteria or issue fresh tenders for its operation.”