Balasore, December 5 (Odisha.in) World Tourism Organisation (WTO), a United Nations body has expressed its interest to develop the coastline from Chandipur to Balaramgadi as a tourist resort of international standard.
Recently, a seven member expert team of WTO headed by James Craig Jessamine has visited the 3 km beach to examine its potential for growth and marketing.
Maintaining it as one of the world’s best tourist sites, the expert team has stressed on immediate steps to arrest coastal erosion, besides development of the beach site.
The WTO members included tourism infrastructure specialist Samuel E Sapuay, Thomas Fletcher, Richardian Batchelor, KVS Menon, Bez Beoura and BN Mishra also discussed the matter with government officers, NGOs and hoteliers after visiting the site.
“Considering Chandipur as base point for coastal development, the team put forth a plan to erect one tourist resort of international standard over 200 acres of land between the Panthaniwas and Balaramgadi,” said ADM Sribatsa Jena, who accompanied the team.
“They want government land for the purpose. They can also acquire some private lands if it falls short. We have shown them all the lands and submitted the proposals. The team would soon inform us about their plan and programmes,” he added.
According to a plan, the site developed under the private public partnership will be prominently known as eco tourism, making it a noise and pollution free zone.
Of the 480-km coastline in Orissa, the golden beach of Chandipur in Balasore district has a unique characteristic of its own. Here the beach is almost mystical, changing its face with the altercation of tides. The unending game of waves crashing on shore is the perennial view that never tires the eyes in this beach.
It is the only beach where the seawater recedes more than five km everyday and return rhythmically after a regular interval – a phenomenon seldom found anywhere else. It’s like magic when one can see the sea literally vanishing before his own eyes and coming back as if playing hide and seek with the beholder.
“This uniqueness has attracted WTO to develop it as a tourist resort of world class,” said Balasore Collector Alekh Chandra Padhiary.
The Collector said that with an assistance of Rs 2.06 crore from government of India the tourism department has started preliminary work for the development of Chandipur beach.
“A team of officials of Orissa tourism development corporation (OTDC) and experts of beach designing has visited the beach and planned whatever to be done. With this fund we would do beach designing, stone packing and lighting on the beach, besides sanitation facilities,” he added.
Odisha.in