The
state government has decided to introduce integrated beach cleaning (IBC)
system at Gopalpur-on-Sea and its nearby tourist spots such as PatiSonepur and
Dhabaleswara. The tourism department has sanctioned around Rs 30 lakh for it, a
tourism officer said.
The
tender will be floated for this purpose very soon, said Ganjam district culture
officer and in-charge tourist officer K C Nishank. A separate tender will also
be floated for the cleanliness drive at Tampara, another tourist spot near Chhatrapur,
sources said.
At
present, the Gopalpur beach is cleaned by Gopalpur NAC, which has limited
resources. But Pati Sonepur, Dhabaleswar and Tampara tourist places are not
cleaned at all though a large number of tourists visit the area. "Many
tourists, particularly foreigners, will flock to the tourist resorts if the
beaches are cleaned. Beach tourism will get a boost then," said MLA
(Gopalpur) Pradeep Kumar Panigrahi. Under the new beach cleaning initiative,
the contractor has to engage sweepers to clean the beach manually. "No
machines will be used as these will destroy the fragile eco-system of the
beach," he added.
It
was also decided that a committee of local people will be formed to ensure that
complete cleanness is maintained. "The committee will supervise and advise
the contractors, if they find any lacunae," said a tourist officer.
The
district administration has also planning to impose the ban on use of polythene
bags on Gopalpur beach. "We will ask the NAC of Gopalpur to strictly
implement the polythene ban on the beach," said a government officer. Source: ToI
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