post news network
Puri, Feb 28: The beach here has been accorded the Blue Flag tag which would pave way for development of world-class infrastructure there. The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved a proposal in this regard, sources said.
The project director of Integrated Coastal Zone Management, Sushant Kumar Nanda, has conveyed the ministry’s decision to Puri Collector Jyotiprakash Das. “The city beach from Raj Bhawan to Banki river mouth area has obtained the Blue flag tag,” Nanda said in his letter.
It is worth mentioning here that a five-member team from the Odisha Coastal Zone Management Authority had inspected the beach December 19, last year. Subsequently, the state government engaged a private agency to develop tourist infrastructure at the beach. Some officials of the private entity had surveyed the beach for two days starting January 22.
“The Blue Flag status would enable the Puri beach to have world-class infrastructure for tourists,” said an official of the district administration.
Notably, Denmark-based Foundation for Environmental Education had proposed to provide Blue Flag tag to 13 beaches in India.