BHUBANESWAR: The scenic Puri-Konark marine drive road in the state will soon be transformed into a model ‘Zero Waste’ coastal tourism zone to protect the coastal ecosystem and enhance visitors’ experience.
Officials in the Forest department said the coastal road, a major portion of which is part of the Konark-Balukhand wildlife sanctuary and its eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), will also have a blanket ban on dumping plastic and other waste.
The project has been planned to be rolled out from April with a provision of around `11 crore that includes maintenance and upkeep for three years.
Spanning around 30 km, the picturesque road corridor along the Bay of Bengal is celebrated for its breathtaking ocean views, lush greenery and tranquil beaches. It connects two of Odisha’s most iconic destinations - the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Konark with pilgrim city Puri, attracting millions of domestic and international tourists every year.
However, with increased tourism activities over time, the corridor now faces growing environmental pressure, unmanaged waste and seasonal surges during festivals and peak travel months.
In the absence of strong regulations, dumping of single-use plastic and other waste has emerged as a major threat to the coastal zone, affecting both the local coastal ecosystem as well as the feeding pattern of wild animals in the Konark-Balukhand sanctuary. Keeping this in view, the Puri Wildlife Division has initiated measures for implementation of the project along 30 km stretch of the Marine Drive, from Talabania to Chandrabhaga.
Puri Wildlife division DFO Magar Dhanaji Raoso informed TNIE that the project will be taken up as ‘Swachh Samudra Corridor’ in which an integrated, end-to-end sanitation and solid waste management system will be put in place to transform the road stretch into a model ‘Zero Waste’ coastal tourism zone that will ensure high standards of cleanliness and safeguard the coastal ecosystem, apart from enhancing the visitors’ experience.
“As part of the plan, two outsourced staff will be deployed in every one or two km stretch of the coastal road and trash bins placed at every 200 to 500 metre. Dumping of plastic or any other kind of waste will be completely banned on the stretch and those flouting the norm will be fined,” he said.
RFP for the project has already been floated and the agency to be finalised for the project will also be responsible for lifting the legacy waste spread along the stretch. All the waste will be sent to Puri and Konark for processing.
“We also have plans to set up a dedicated waste processing unit for the stretch in near future,” Raoso said.