West Bengal to develop lighthouse tourism - two lighthouses selected

West Bengal plans to go in for lighthouse tourism - the lighthouses at Dariyapur and Sagar will be developed into tourist attractions by the Ministry of Shipping. As per the tentative plans, there will be hotels and resorts, thematic restaurants and construction of viewing galleries near the lighthouses. Moreover, museums and other tourist attractions have been planned as well.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 13 December 2015.

This sort of lighthouse tourism has come up in a big way in countries like South Korea, Scotland and South Africa and there is tremendous potential in India as well. Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari feels such activity will help to not only develop the economy of the remote areas where such lighthouses are located but will also generate employment.
The two lighthouse that have been selected for West Bengal are in the list of 78 lighthouses across the country that will be developed on a Public Private Partnership model.
The shipping minister has announced that roadshows held in Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam have generated a fair amount of response and there are as many as 236 potential investors who have expressed interest in the project. The lighthouse in Dariyapur, East Midnapore district, is near to Bankiput which is frequented by tourists. The lighthouse is nearly 96 feet high and commands a grand view of the sea from the top of the lighthouse. Inside the lighthouse, there is a petrol vapor burner that dates back to 1881 - it was originally installed at the Dwarka lighthouse in Gujarat and was shifted to Kolkata in 1968 and, later to Dariyapur.
The Sagar lighthouse was first built in 1821 and was relocated twice due to erosion. The present structure was constructed in 1909 and it has been operative since 1911.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Converting lighthouses in Mumbai to attract tourists

The director general Lighthouses and Lightships has indicated that efforts are on to develop eight lighthouses as tourist attractions. these are the ones located at Kanhoji Angre and Sunk Rock off the Mumbai coast, Aguada in Goa, Kadalur Point at Thikkodi in Kerala, Minicoy in Lakshadweep islands, Mahabalipuram and Kanyakumari - Muttom in Tamilnadu and Chandrabhaga in Odisha.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 29 October 2015.

Already four Lighthouses located at Chennai and Mahabalipuram in Tamilnadu and Alapuzha (Alleppy) and Kannur (Cannanore) in Kerala have been developed as tourist attractions, which are seeing substantial footfalls.
It is understood that an Expression of Interest (EOI) for developing tourism infrastructure has also been issued by the DGLL for another set of 70 lighthouses. The shipping ministry has favored Swiss Challenge method for awarding lighthouse projects in a bid to encourage innovative ideas.
The development of tourism infrastructure would necessarily involve addition of hotels or resorts, thematic restaurants, construction of viewing galleries, walk in museums and allied tourism facilities. Such inattentiveness has paid dividends for countries like South Korea, Scotland and South Africa who are the pioneers in development of lighthouse tourism.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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700 Indian islands to be developed for tourism and honeymoon destinations

#sagarmala #india #nitin #gadkari #ModiGovt #tourism India has a total of 128 islands and some of these are uninhabited. The government plans to use 700 of these islands to promote tourism, movie making apart from entertainment activities. These could also be converted to honeymoon destinations, maritime security and for generating non-conventional energy - both wind and solar.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 27 March 2015.

This would be a part of the ambitious Sagarmala project. The Cabinet has granted approval to the concept note and the institutional framework needed to implement a project of this magnitude. It has been revived by the Narendra Modi government. It had been first mooted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee during his last tenure.
Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari has explained that there are a total of 1,208 islands including the uninhabited ones and there are 185 lighthouses. The proposal is to develop these as hubs of tourist activity for which a feasibility study would be carried out.
Needless to say that for any such plan to succeed, the government would have to consider the environmental impact on the rich and fragile ecology of those islands. In some cases there could be adverse impact on the vulnerable tribal populations who reside in the nearby islands. Obviously, it would not be plain sailing.

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