TIRUPATI: The temple city of Tirupati will soon have three ultramodern five-star hotels to woo pilgrims coming from far to have darshan of Lord Venkateswara at the hill temple of Tirumala. A decision to allocate land for a proposed hotel was taken at a recent state cabinet meeting.
Oberoi, the luxury hotel group, which gave an expression of interest to set up a star hotel in the city, would be given at least ten acres of land on Alipiri-Cherlopalli highway. Land would also be allocated to Novotel, another renowned hotel chain.
A third five-star hotel will come up soon on the Alipiri-Cherlopalli highway, close to the Alipiri check point, the gateway to Tirumala hills. All the three hotels would be erected on land given by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC). It has 38 acres of land on this road.
Some 20 per cent of the total land must be earmarked as a buffer zone for the SV Zoological Park. Sources said 30 acres would be used for this purpose.
“There are only three five-star hotels in Tirupati. The need for more ultramodern star hotels has been felt for a long time. There has been considerable increase in the number of pilgrims here in recent years.
A tourism official said the development of the new five-star hotels would also promote economic activities by offering employment to the local youths. A committee has been set up to finalise the details of lease and tenders for construction of these hotels.
