BHUBANESWAR: At a time when the Ministry of Tourism has been laying stress on cleanliness at sites of tourism importance under its Clean India Campaign, it remains a concern in one of the most visited places in Odisha - Puri.
Every year, around one crore tourists visit the State and a majority of them go to Puri for the beach and the 12th Century Jagannath temple.
Under the campaign, the Tourism Department and Puri district administration have now identified traffic and parking junctions in the Pilgrim town, Grand Road and the Puri beach, where cleanliness will be given added emphasis for comfort of the tourists.
Though Puri has the distinction of having a sprawling beach in the eastern region, its cleanliness is a major concern. Even as several steps have been taken in the past to keep the beach clean, none have yielded satisfactory results.
After introducing mechanised cleaning of the beach earlier this year, the Tourism Department along with Puri administration has decided to construct toilet complexes on the beach. Similar initiatives will be undertaken at Talabania, Baliapanda and parking areas along the Grand Road.
Secretary of the Department, Arvind Padhee said the priority of Odisha Tourism is safety and cleanliness. For creating a cleaner environment at tourist destinations, private parties will be involved to make the initiative effective, he said.
He said 10 to 15 toilet blocks will be constructed on Puri beach and plans are on the anvil to adopt Sulabh International model for the purpose. In fact, the Department is in talks with Sulabh International and similar agencies to implement public toilet complexes at most of important junctions in Puri on pay-and-use basis. At present, there is just one toilet complex on the entire beach and Grand Road does not have a single public lavatory.
As of now, cleaning of Grand Road and periphery of Jagannath temple is being taken care of by Jamshedpur Utility and Services Company Limited (JUSCO). “We want specific cleaning agencies to take over sanitation component at different places in Puri,” said Padhee.
Puri Collector Arvind Agarwal said identification of land along Grand Road, Puri beach and Talabania is on for setting up toilet blocks. “There are also plans to install bio-toilets and mobile toilets at these places too. This will be helpful during Nabakalebara festival next year,” he added.
Reward for Clean Sites
With an aim to promote cleanliness at tourist sites, the Tourism Ministry has decided to reward States. A new category will be instituted from 2016 in its annual National Tourism Awards to recognise the best efforts made by States ensuring cleanliness at their prominent places of tourist significance.