Puri: The much awaited moment arrived here Monday when the beach in this town got the ‘Blue Flag’ award. The ‘Blue Flag’ award is given to the cleanest beaches in India. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar hoisted the flag through video conferencing. Besides the Puri beach, seven other beaches in India got the same tag.
The minister took to his Twitter handle to inform about the new development. “Hoisted the International #BlueFlag at 8 beaches virtually. It is a proud moment for India that all the 8 beaches which were showcased have been awarded the coveted blue flag. I compliment and congratulate the State Governments, officials and people for this feat (sic),” read the tweet.
In another tweet, Javadekar informed, “We have indentified 100 beaches in the next phase and plan to make them of international standards in coming 3-4 years.”
The coveted Blue Flag tag has been accorded to the eight beaches by the Foundation for Environment Education (FEE), Denmark. To get a Blue Flag tag, a beach has to meet 33 criteria including environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria fixed by the FEE.
Notably, an 870-metre stretch of the Puri beach from Digabareni Square to the backside of Mayfair Hotel has been developed as ‘Blue Flag’ beach under the World Bank-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) of the State Forest and Environment Department and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The earmarked portion has a safe bathing zone for tourists, pedestrian tracks, huts, decked chairs and, last but not the least, a safe and secure ambience. There are bio toilets, wheelchairs for the physically handicapped and lovely landscape.
PNN