Development of Digha, Sankarpur gets boost

20 April 2012

biswabrata goswami
DIGHA, 20 APRIL: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee's plan to transform the state's popular sea resort ~ Digha ~ into a more popular tourist destination, like Goa, seems to be moving at a good pace. The Digha-Sankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) is planning to set up an ethnic spa and health club on 3.5 acres of land near the beach at Digha.
The DSDA has already floated a tender inviting applications from single entities, joint ventures or consortiums having technical expertise, financial capability and operational experience in a related sector on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for a period of 30 years.
The state government, meanwhile, has asked Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) to prepare a "pre-feasibility study" for setting up of a ropeway from Old Digha to New Digha. "We have requested the IL&FS to start a pre-feasibility study in this regard. The study is to examine things starting from availability of land to safety measures,” said Mr Soumen Pal, executive officer of the DSDA. Mr Pal said that the 7.5-km long proposed ropeway will not only attract tourist but also serve as an urban transportation facility, which will eventually ease the load on the roads.
Talking about the development plans, Mr Pal said: "Survey works on a sewerage and drainage system in Digha have already been completed by the state public health engineering and urban development departments. A proposal to build an advanced sewerage and drainage system in Digha has also been sent to the state government.” “With the rise in the numbers of tourists, the pollution level has also risen. Digha, which was once called the 'Brighton of the East', has turned into a garbage-filled spot with plastic littered everywhere. But, this will no longer be the scene of Digha when the sewerage and drainage system is introduced," said Mr Ashok Bishal, a Trinamul Congress zilla parishad member.
Following the chief minister's recent visit to Digha, the administration has taken steps to develop infrastructure and include Tajpur within the DSDA in an attempt to develop the Digha-Mandarmani-Tajpur area as a tourism circuit like Goa. In addition, the state government is taking steps to renovate and widen at least three roads in the area. “Works for transforming the existing Digha bypass road into double lane have already been started and a fund of Rs 60 lakh for lighting the beach with LED lamps has been sanctioned,” said Mr Pal. The state government has also set up a separate police station at Digha railway station to look after law-and-order situation of 11 railway stations falling under its jurisdiction. This apart, the Digha Science Centre, one of the satellite units of the National Council of Science Museums, Union ministry of culture, has recently opened two new galleries to attract more tourists.