Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress on Sunday opposed state govt’s reported decision to hand over management of circuit houses at Ambaji, Dwarka and Somnath to private agencies, alleging that the move amounted to “commercialisation of faith” and would burden pilgrims with higher accommodation costs.Congress leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala, Amit Chavda and Tushar Chaudhary issued a joint statement on Sunday, alleging that govt was pushing public assets at major pilgrimage centres into a commercial model instead of improving their facilities. They questioned the rationale behind opening 75% of the rooms for commercial bookings when the average occupancy of the circuit houses was around 25%.The party members also sought details of the tender process, selection criteria for the private agency and the revenue govt expects from the arrangement. They questioned whether if govt was handing over assets worth crores for a relatively small financial return of around Rs 1.5 crore.Congress said Ambaji, Dwarka and Somnath were not merely tourist destinations but centres of faith for millions of devotees. The party alleged that converting govt facilities built with public money into commercially operated properties could lead to steep price increases for pilgrims.
