The state government is constructing four bypasses to reduce the travelling time to Digha from Kolkata.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 850 crore, the construction of the bypasses will start at Diwali.

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The bypasses will come up between Nandakumar and Digha covering a distance of 90 km. The bypasses will come up at Heriya, Naschindapur temple, Contai and between Alampur and Fatepur on Ramnagar Road.

The main purpose of the construction of the bypasses is to reduce the travel time. The visitors take nearly four hours to four-and-a-half hours to reach the coastal town. Traffic jams have become frequent after Nandakumar. A senior official of Digha Sankarpur Development Authority said with the inauguration of Jagannath temple, the tourist flow in Digha is expected to go up. The volume of traffic will go up automatically. After the bypasses are opened, the travel time will be reduced by at least one hour.

After coming to power in 2011, Mamata Banerjee took steps to develop the coastal town. Hotels, resorts and homestays have come up in Digha and it is difficult to get rooms on weekends. Amusement park has come up at Digha and a convention centre has been set up.

Tourism has become a major industry in Digha now. New Digha has been developed over the past few years.

It was former chief minister Dr B C Roy, who developed Digha in the early 1960s as a tourist spot. Digha sea beach was hard and driving motor cars were allowed on the beach then. A sea cruise will be introduced soon.