bhopal a treasure trove of several heritage and spiritual sites including buddhist caves chaturbhuj nala pashupatinath temple and dharmarajeshwar temple mandsaur still remains a quaint virginal place but now it is ready to open its arms to all those who seek an eclectic melange of adventure pleasure and ultimate luxury at one place welcome to the floating festival that is being organised by states tourism and culture department at gandhisagar in mandsaur from february 1 to february 5 the fiveday event is just a tip of the iceberg said sheoshekhar shukla principal secretary culture tourism and md of mp tourism board this floating festival is basically aimed at developing mandsaur as a standalone destination because it has all the right ingredients to make it to all the haute tourism circuits in india and abroad tourists will get to cherish some fantastic wildlife a majestic stay at luxury tents and enjoy air water and landbased adventure sports the biggest draws at the fest would a floating stage floating spa floating market boat safari live music and some the mouthwatering tribal delights served with international cuisine to satiate the discerning palates of the visitors people can book online for the event said the principal secretaryafter the fest the luxury tents and floating elements would be retained for 10 years to provide unlimited adventure to all the incoming tourists said the md of tourism board adding we want to develop new sites and decentralise the entire concept of tourism in madhya pradesh mandsaur fest will be developed on the lines of rann utsav of gujarat we have gone for a publicprivate model to develop this place for next 10 years there will be activities organised here throughout the year to attract tourist footfall we plan to recreate the model at many other places in mp there will be several workshops organised at the venue mp artisans will sell their art and craft at the craft bazar that will be a permanent fixture even the raw material used here will be mostly bought from the local farmers and smalltime traders which will generate new employment opportunities we strongly believe that tourism can be used to provide longterm sustenance to tribals living in the vicinity