Cold weather fails to dampen festive spirits

28 December 2012

biswabrata goswami
DIGHA, 28 DEC: The cold wave gripping the state has failed to dampen the spirit of thousands of tourists who arrived at the state’s sea resorts ~ Digha, Mandarmoni, Sankarpur and Tajpur ~ to celebrate the Christmas and the New Year.
This time, the number of domestic tourists has outnumbered their international counterparts. Despite pollution and exorbitant hotel rates, the flow of tourists is on the rise. The calm and serene environs are luring a lot of tourists to Mandarmoni, Tajpur and Shankarpur beaches, too.
Keeping in mind the promise made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to convert Digha into Goa of the east, the government has introduced paragliding as part of the year-end festivities.
On the lines of Goa and other beach towns, paragliding has begun at the Digha beach. But it is the first of its kind in eastern India and third in the country after Delhi and Pune which runs on a motor.
While inaugurating the paragliding at New Digha beach on Wednesday, the state Tourism Minister, Mr Krishnendu Chowdhury, said: “The chief minister had dreamed about turning Digha into Goa. Many other things have to be done to fulfil the dream. This is just the beginning. Digha needs to be made affordable for everyone from the middle class to the high class”.
It would cost Rs 2,500 per head for a 15-minute ride, 18,000 ft above the sea level. The minister, however, lamented several work have been put on hold in the Digha-Mandarmoni tourist circuit due to objections raised by the Environment Department as it falls under the special economic zone.
This apart, the state government has launched a Rs 41 crore World Bank-aided project to build a storm water drainage network system in the coastal areas of Digha and its surroundings. The project, expected to be completed in the next two years, is part of the World Bank-aided Integrated Coastal Zone Management programme. “There are several plans that have been chalked out to spruce up the coastal regions of the state and make them popular on the lines of Goa. While the authorities had decided to set up a wooden pedestrian walkway at Shankarpur for tourists, plans are also afoot to introduce a hovercraft service,” said Soumen Pal, Executive Officer of Digha Sankarpur Development Authority.
In Digha the tourists inflow has increased from 8 lakh to 35 lakh in the past one year. “Compared to the past two years, this year, tourist inflow increased abnormally, especially after Miss Banerjee introduced direct rail services here,” said a hotel owner. With the rise in tourist flow, the pollution level has also risen. Digha, which was once called the “Brighton of the East”, has turned into a garbage dump, with plastic and litter everywhere. The famous casuarina forests off Digha coast has lost its charm. The sewage system here has been a problem for many years.