KENDRAPARA: Tourism Department is yet to explore the tourism potential of Pentha beach in Kendrapara district. The 10-km beach in Rajnagar block has a beautiful, unsoiled coastline where one can find red crabs aplenty.
Even though Pentha is not a vast beach like Puri or Konark, its surroundings are beautiful with Barunei river-mouth and Bhitarkanika sanctuary located close by.
Sadly, one cannot plan for a night halt as there are no hotels or rest houses here.
“You will not even get a cup of tea near the beach. It is high time the department should think about developing infrastructure around the beach,” said Swadhin Das, a tourist who visited the beach recently.
Sources said despite being a beautiful beach, Pentha remains off the radar of tourist operators.
With a little boost to infrastructure and awareness among tourist operators, the beach located along Kendrapara-Rajnagar route, can become a stop-over for tourists. Another major attraction of the beach is the Olive Ridley nesting.
Stakeholders in the tourism sector said Pentha is also a potential site for developing turtle tourism. The easy approachability of Pentha beach is sure to attract foreign visitors for an enthralling encounter with Ridleys in a serene atmosphere, said Sarat Swain, a local tour operator.
District Tourism Officer Bijaya Kumar Mohanty said the Tourism Department has plans to put Pentha beach on the tourism map of the State as a holiday destination.
“Our goal is to develop a beach resort near Pentha. We have already selected land near the beach for the purpose,” he said.