Maharashtra government to redo Mahabaleshwar market, beautify Venna lake

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday approved the masterplan of the tourism development in Mahabaleshwar, the state’s popular tourist destination in Satara district. In phase one of the plan, the state government will beautify the vicinity around Venna lake, carry out road-widening work, and redo the Mahabaleshwar market.

Thackeray, during a meeting held at his official residence Varsha, said that the tourism development plan should be carried out in a time-bound manner. While tourism and environment department minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the state will maintain balance in conserving the environment and providing infrastructure for tourism growth.

A tourism department official said that in the first phase, the beautification of Venna Lake will be done by January 31. “Besides the lake, uniformity will be maintained in the design of roads, transport system, sidewalks, markets, colour scheme, street lights, vertical gardens, road crossings, and other development construction,” the official said.

The state also plans to have a polo field to host matches, which can be another tourist attraction. The chief minister said that the local civic body must submit a proposal to the state government seeking flattening of the polo field, as it is under the possession of forest department.