Ramdev to develop island for yoga retreat
Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari disclosed that the government has offered yoga guru Ramdev the chance to develop an island with a lighthouse as a place for a yoga retreat. He said it would make a good option "for domestic and foreign visitors." Gadkari said that his ministry had distinguished islands and approximately 70 lighthouses, which could be promoted as tourism destinations.
The shipping ministry said that the lighthouses tourism would "kindle interest among youth about the country's rich maritime history and heritage." Minister of State for Shipping Milind Deora said that the development of these lighthouses involved "conservation of the lighthouse, fort and the viewing gallery". The government would have to provide accommodation, build jetty and passenger terminals, and set-up solar power electrification.
Countries like South Korea, Scotland and South Africa have been pioneers in the development of lighthouse tourism and India hopes to emulate their model.
Gearing up to promote lighthouse tourism, the Director General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL) identified 15 lighthouses which were being developed. The lighthouses will also be used for setting up radar network. Combined together, these lighthouses will help form surveillance network as well as bring in tourism into the region. The DGLL said after successful trials, the project will be expanded to other places.
The 3 pilot projects will feature at "the Kanhoji Angre Lighthouse near Mumbai, Dolphin Nose Point Lighthouse in Visakhapatnam and one near Mamallapuram near Chennai", before the model can be applied to the rest of the country.
As many as 236 potential investors came forward interested in developing lighthouse tourism project during the shipping ministry held road shows in Chennai, Kochi and Visakhapatnam. The investors put forward proposals to develop these as "tourism zones with facilities including resorts, ayurvedic resorts, convention centre, heritage trail and water sports. " The ministry said some of them will be operational in 2 years.
Nitin Gadkari told in the Investor Summit on 'Development of Lighthouses as Beacons of Tourism' that his ministry had decided to make use of a number of lighthouse islands that adorned the country's coastline. In this context, the Directorate-General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL), Noida, said they planned to develop 78 out of 189 lighthouses into tourist destinations on a public-private business model.
Other than Ramdev, notable ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar too has shown interest in developing such islands in the Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep region.
