Seminar held in Gopalpur to promote beach tourism

Gopalpur-on-Sea (Berhampur)

Good road connectivity, cleanliness of beaches, proper lighting, pollution control and security are key to a tourism boost in the beach towns of the state, most of the speakers at a seminar held on Tuesday here said. They added that the role of local people and hoteliers was also important. "Barring a few ones, most of the beaches in the state lack these basic amenities," president of the Beach Protection Council of Odisah (BPCO) Jagannath Bastia said. There are 26 beaches on the 482-km long Odisha coast, he added. The seminar on development of beach tourism was organized by the BPC0 in association with the department of tourism and culture of the state government. Gopalpur MLA Pradip Panigahi, however, said the government had taken several steps for the development of beach tourism, particularly at Gopalpur beach. Besides holding the beach festivals, the district administration had started holding culture programmes on every Sunday to attract tourists. He also stressed on the cooperation of hoteliers and local fishermen for development of tourism at Gopalpur. District tourist officer K C Nishonk said the administration had proposed to bring folk dance groups from Kerala, Rajasthan, Manipur and Karnataka to the sea beach town to perform on Sunday evenings. This apart, the state government has sanctioned around Rs 36 lakh for beach cleaning, the tourist officer added. Ganjam district hotel association president Uma Shankar Panigrahi, however, pointed out there was no bus communication between Berhampur to Gopalpur. "Even though the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) promised a bus service some years ago, it has not turned into reality," Panigrahi added.

Source: Times of India

Source: The Sambad