Puducherry, March 16 (UNI )In a bid to attract tourists, the Puducherry Tourism department along with private participation began a boat ride in the sea here on Wednesday. Being a tourist centre the number of tourists visiting Puducherry is increasing day by day and thousand are expected on the week ends. The Tourism Department had mooted out a novel idea to arrange a boat ride for the tourists to enjoy the beauty of the Puducherry beaches. A luxury boat was arranged with private participation and the service commenced this morning. According to sources, 40 tourists could travel in the luxury boat at a time and all safety equipment are being provided to them. People will have to pay a ticket fare of Rs 500 for a three hour trip in the sea. The boat will start from the Puducherry beach and pass through, Pondy Marina beach, Paradise Beach, Neelam and Ruby beaches to reach Nallavadu and then return to Puducherry beach. There will be one trip in the morning and another one in the evening and advance booking for the trips is essential. UNI PAB ACL1338