Beach-hopping could soon become a trend
across Konkan as the government of Maharashtra has decided to develop tourist
jetties in order to boost the development of coastal tourism infrastructure.
Some of the locations identified for the project include — Kashid; Diveagar,
(Raigad district); Underi (in the Mumbai harbour); Vengurla; Vijaydurg
(Sindhudurg); Suvarnadurg; Bhatye; Purnagad, (Ratnagiri), Durgadi (near Kalyan)
and Belapur in Navi Mumbai.
The project will also boost the
hospitality industry and tourism development in nearby areas. "This can be
used for boat cruises and water transport. We are collaborating with the
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). The MMB will construct these
jetties with funding from the Sagarmala Project," said Vikram Kumar, CEO,
Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB). Kumar said that with timely approvals, work
on the project was likely to begin in October.
"Each jetty is expected to cost
between Rs 8 to 10 crore and each site will get a jetty and terminal building.
Some sites have been approved while permissions for remaining locations is
under consideration," said an official. "These locations could also
be used for water sports, docking houseboats, boating and passenger
transport."
The project also covers areas around forts
like Vijaydurg and locations like Diveagar, — popular tourist destinations.
Private operators can also use these jetties to launch water-based tourist
services.
Maharashtra has a 720-km coastline,
including 114 km in Mumbai, 127 km in Thane and Palghar, 122 km in Raigad, 237
km in Ratnagiri and 120 km in Sindhudurg. The state also has two major ports
namely — Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).
However, it has not explored the potential
of its coastline in terms of developing facilities like passenger water
transport ports, marinas and captive jetties. It has only a few operational
RoRo services like Dabhol-Dhopawe in the Dabhol creek, Dighi-Agardanda (Rajpuri
creek), Jaigad- Tavsal (Jaigad creek) and Vesavi-Bangmandla (Bankot creek).
Courtesy: DNA