Manish Kumar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, August 2: The Puri and the Paradip lighthouses are the two new entries in the list of lighthouses in the state that would be developed as tourist spots. The other lighthouses of the state – the lighthouse at Gopalpur, Chandrabhaga and False Point – were already there in the plan made by the directorate general of lighthouses and lightships under the ministry of shipping that has decided to develop 66 lighthouses across the country as popular tourist destinations. Now, Orissa has five lighthouses that would be developed by the government as tourist destinations. Minister of shipping, Nitin Gadkari, informed the Parliament in a written reply, recently.
The department had earlier, in 2011, announced the development of three destinations, Gopalpur, Chandrabhaga and False Point. The department had then given importance to Gopalpur as it appeared to them as an ideal spot for a serene beach resort in eastern India; Chandrabhaga was chosen for its proximity to the Konark temple and the False Point lighthouse was chosen for it heritage structure.
Of the new entries the lighthouse at Puri is situated around 8 kms from the Puri railway station and has tourist importance keeping in mind its proximity to the famous Jagannath temple. It is spread over an area of 0.60 acres. The report made by the department says no ‘natural features’ such as mountains, water streams etc. exist near the site and also there is no famous surviving ‘folk art’ centre near the site.
The Paradip lighthouse is spread over a sprawling 1.22 hectares of land and is being operated by the Paradip Port Trust. Situated near the mouth of the Mahanadi, it has potential to attract tourists from nearby places. However, the study done by the department has shown that there are hardly any ‘natural features’ such as mountains, streams and waterfalls near the site.
Experts from the tourism sector, meanwhile, are not very impressed with the execution of the plan in the three places, development of which were announced in 2011. Commenting on the issue, Sanghamitra Jena, an eco-tourism expert of the city said, “This, I believe, is just another announcement. Not much has been done on the ground relating to the earlier projects in the state. Puri, Konark and Gopalpur already have got lighthouses. Why till now nothing has been done there regarding ticketing facilities?”
Other sites in the country, which would be developed on the same lines include, Ratnagiri and Betul in Maharashtra, Rameshwaram and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, Aguada in Goa, Dwarka and Alang in Gujarat among others.
