BHUBANESWAR : The unexplored Pati-Sonapur beach in Ganjam district will become the second blue flag beach of the State after the Golden beach in Puri. Work on public amenities like solar lighting, toilet blocks, seating and vending arrangements, solid waste management unit, watch tower, open shower, children’s park, among other things, started in April this year and is expected to be completed in the next six months.
However, just like Puri, there will not be any permanent buildings on the Pati-Sonapur coast. For this purpose, bamboo is being used as the construction material for the temporary structures. While the Tourism department is funding and implementing the peripheral works like a gate, parking, pathway, the core work is being done by Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an agency under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Work is being supervised by the Beach Management Committee of Ganjam headed by the Collector.
Blue Flag certification is a globally recognised eco-label accorded by an international agency ‘Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark’. To get Blue Flag certification, the beaches need to fulfil 33 stringent criteria and the Pati-Sonapur beach fits the bill. “Since Sonapur ticks all the boxes, it has been proposed as a blue flag beach. After the amenities are developed, SIACOM will apply for the blue flag certification. As of now, the agency will move the Foundation for Environment Education this month for a pilot blue flag status for the beach,” said Berhampur DFO Amlan Nayak.
For development of the beach, the Ministry has made a provision of `7 crore while the State has sanctioned `1.5 crore for the peripheral works. Including Pati-Sonapur beach, the Tourism department has decided to develop four more beaches for the blue flag status including Haripur beach in Ganjam, Niladri, Muhana and Jahania beaches in Puri district. Pati-Sonapur is located on the confluence of Bahuda river and Bay of Bengal. Except Niladri, work on the rest of the beaches is yet to start.