Digha , To boost blue tourism in West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced plans to develop a 27-km stretch of coastline in Purba Medinipur district into a cluster of tourist destinations, a ₹ 5 lakh subsidy for new homestays and enhanced safety measures for fisherfolk.
After the DSDA meeting, the chief minister announced a series of initiatives for the tourism sector and the state’s fishing community. He also announced enhanced safety measures for fishermen, including a high-frequency control room at the DSDA office in Digha and a specialised cell of 50 state police personnel by March to tackle severe cyclones.
Speaking at an event in the coastal town of Digha, he said the initiative would focus on creating job opportunities for locals while making family holidays affordable for middle- and lower-middle-income groups.
He pointed out that his government recently extended the jurisdiction of the Digha-Shankarpur Development Authority up to the coastal areas. The plans also include extensive coastal afforestation, including replanting of mangrove forests along the coast. “The West Bengal government will develop the 27-km coastline between Talpati and Udaypur in the Purba Medinipur coastal belt into a cluster of tourist destinations, focusing on jobs for local people and low-cost family trips for the middle and lower-middle classes. Also, new homestays in designated tourist spots will get a ₹ 5 lakh subsidy, while Digha will get a helicopter service,” Adhikari said. “The previous government did not let West Bengal join the Centre’s Sagarmala 1 initiative that aimed to promote port-led development across the country’s coastline. It harmed the state’s coastal belts and fishermen,” Adhikari said, adding that steps were being taken under Sagarmala 2 to develop fishing harbours and jetties. He said two major irrigation projects at Chandpur and Shankarpur, valued at about ₹ 200 crore, had been sanctioned in collaboration with the state irrigation minister and secretary.
