Aerial view of the Gopalpur port from the lighthouse

Bhubaneswar, July 28: If you love spending time on the beach, wait for a spate of exciting activities in the near future.

The directorate of Lighthouses and Lightships, Mumbai, has decided to include three heritage lighthouses of Odisha to make them more attractive with beautiful landscape designs, conservation work, development of amenities and cafeterias.

Three lighthouses at Gopalpur, Chandrabhaga and False Point in Jagatsingpur district near Paradip port will be developed as tourist destinations and have additional recreational avenues for which Union tourism ministry will be spending money.

The shipping ministry has decided to develop 15 such heritage lighthouses across the coast of India.

Gopalpur, the famous beachfront town near Berhampur in Ganjam district is also a well-known tourist destination. “In the past, we have climbed on the top of the lighthouse, and seen the beautiful Bay of Bengal and the shadow of it on the beach. With the proposal from the shipping ministry to make it more attractive, a lot of tourists will definitely avail the opportunity to explore the British-era wonder,’’ said Manas Panigrahi of Berhampur city, which is also known for its silk saris.

Gopalpur lighthouse came into existence in 1871 for assisting coastal shipping between Rangoon and Coromandal coast ports. The steamer service to Rangoon also touched Gopalpur port in the past.

Local residents said due to erosion of the coast in 1943, the lighthouse got heavily damaged and stopped functioning. Later, it remained unused due to World War II.

In 1948, a new gas light inside a 500mm lantern was established on a hillock about 1km north from the coast. The present lighthouse was constructed on December 15, 1967.

The False Point lighthouse, however, was one of the oldest on the eastern coast. It is situated on a large island created by the delta of the Mahanadi river. Tourists can reach there by cruising through the river from Paradip port.

The ships of the British East India Company coming to Calcutta port used to mistake Mahanadi river mouth for the Hooghly, and this why the point came to be known as False Point. The British traders, therefore, decided to build a lighthouse near the mouth of Mahanadi and name it the False Point lighthouse. The plans were finalised in the early 1830s.

The island on which False Point lies, belonged to the erstwhile rulers of Burdwan, who donated the land required for lighthouse to the British East India Company. The foundation work began on December 6, 1836.

The Chandrabhaga lighthouse is 3.5km away by road from the 13th Century Sun Temple of Konark on the Puri-Konark Marine drive. It has derived its name from the Chandrabhaga river. According to historians, the ships earlier took the Sun Temple as a reference point in the sea as there were regular visits by Odia traders to Bali, Java, Sumatra and Sri Lanka in the ancient times. The Chandrabhaga lighthouse came to existence in 1967.

Tour operator Srikant Mishra from Bhubaneswar is happy that the Centre has considered the renovation and development of the heritage lighthouse.

“We often get tourists who want to take beach tourism very seriously and also explore the lighthouses, but there is no amenities for them. The project will help them to spend quality time there. The destinations will be helpful for the niche tourists,” he added.

Some of the major lighthouses included in the programme are the ones at Kanhoji Angre in Mumbai, Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Mahabalipuram, Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, Aguado, Dwarka and Minicoy.

TALL ATTRACTION

What: Heritage lighthouses such as False Point, Gopalpur-on-sea and Chandrabhaga near Konark will be developed as tourist destinations
Why: To attract tourists, especially those interested in serene and scenic places by the sea
How: With Union tourism ministry funds, shipping ministry will execute the programme at 15 heritage lighthouses across Indian coast Value-addition: Landscaping and setting up amenities such as cafeteria and museum to woo tourists