Bhubaneswar, April 30: Chilika lake tourism is set to become luxurious.
An eco-luxury resort with 70 rooms will come up near the Chilika, which is Asia's largest brackish water lagoon.
The first international quality accommodation facility in the state will be opened for visitors by January 2017.
J.K. Mohanty, managing director of the hospitality group that has acquired land to develop the resort, said: "Luxury resorts, both for domestic and foreign visitors near the Chilika, had become a crying necessity for the past several decades. A Thailand-based firm has designed the resort."
The resort will have residential areas, houseboats, spa, yoga centre, herbal gardens, landscaping, amphitheatre, business centre, library, handicrafts and souvenir shop, water sports complex, boating facilities, horse riding, kennel house, badminton, tennis court, mini golf course, bird watching tower and cycle tracks and facilities for conferences. All will be developed on a nine-acre area.
Apart from bird watching, the Chilika is also famous for shrines such as Goddess Kalijai, Irrawaddy dolphins at Satapada and islands such as Barakuda (honeymoon), Sanakuda (breakfast) and the blue waters of Rambha known for boating activities.
A senior official of the hospitality group also said that after development of the resort, the company was also planning to develop similar facilities at Satapada, Bhitarkanika and Puri. The organisation has already received all clearances from various authorities, including the state forests and environment department, for the Chilika project.
Spread over 1,100-sqkm area, the lake is a storehouse of rare floral and faunal species, which are unique only to the lake and its surrounding areas.
"We have found a particular plant species that is found in Sri Lanka and some islands of the Chilika. Interestingly, local people are consuming the plants as biomass to burn and get energy. There is need to educate them for its conservation," said Ajit K. Patnaik, chief executive of the Chilika Development Authority.
Patnaik also said the resort project near Pathara village, 200 metres from the Chilika coastline, is outside the coastal regulated zone and doesn't violate ecological rules and regulations.
Tour operator Debashish Mohapatra said: "More private players and hospitality groups should come to invest near Odisha coast, so that we can ensure more safer travel."Chilika is a major destination both for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts as it is a safe haven for migratory birds and each year winged guests from distant places such as Siberia throng its warm waters during winter season.
The lake was named as `Destination Flyways' by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation on January 21, 2014. The name was given as it is a sustainable destination for migratory birds.
