Damodar Valley Corporation is gearing up to welcome the tourists during the New Year at Maithon lake, situated around 45km from Dhanbad, in Egyarkund block.

Beautification work on the Millennium Park spread over an area of around 3 acres near the lake, is going on. The park will be opened for visitors from January 1 to February 15.

The park has a large number of flowering plants, and a children’s play area.

“Preparatory work is being carried out in Millenium Park by the civil department of the DVC for opening of the park, which is a centre of attraction for tourists who come to the lake,” DVC public relations officer Vijay Kumar said on Wednesday.

“All our four guesthouses — the chairman’s camp, Majumdar Niwas, Comera House and Parthasarthy Guesthouse — are packed till January 15 as the tourists have started visiting the Maithon lake since the first week December. The footfall has further increased from today (Wednesday),” he said.

Urinals and toilets of the DVC situated near the lake have been refurbished, he said.

“Besides enjoying the scenic locales of the lake, a large number of visitors also visit Maithon to see the large number of migratory birds which have started arriving near the lake since mid-December,” Kumar added.

Set up in 1957 on the Barakar river, Maithon Dam which is made of both earth an concrete has a lake spread over 65 square kilometres.

Boating around several islands on the lake, including Sabuj Deep and Chamoch Deep, is a popular tourist draw.

The Maa Kalyaneshwari Temple, situated around 100m away from the Maithon Dam, is another centre of tourist attraction.

A large number of tourists visit here from different parts of Jhakhand and Bengal.

The areas is home to a large number of birds as well. A bird-watching club has also been established by a former BDO of Egyarkund.

The club members guide tourists about the many species of migratory birds that visit the lake during winters.