BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has decided to develop Talsari Beach of Balasore along with Udayapur-Talasari-Chandaneswar-Bichirtapur-Bhusandeswar circuit as a beach tourism destination.
The decision was taken at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi in the Secretariat here on Tuesday.
Considering tourism potential of these spots, the Chief Secretary advised Tourism Department to prepare a detailed project proposal with financial outlay for Government approval.
Padhi directed the Collector and Divisional Forest Officer of Balasore district to identify around 50 acre land for development of the project and initiate other preliminary steps.
Development Commissioner R Balakrishnan suggested the formation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for implementation and maintenance of the project.
Talsari beach with its calm ambience, unique receding waters and tropical weather has considerable potential to be a major tourist destination, said Government Chief Whip and Bhograi MLA Anant Das said.
A large number of tourists, mainly from West Bengal, are visiting Talsari, Udaypur and Bichitrapur. According to an official estimate, day visitors to Talasari were around 1,46,704 in 2012, which increased to 1,93,789 in 2014. Infrastructure works like development of pathway, illumination, water sports facilities, a foot over bridge on the creek to connect main land to Subarna Beach, renovation of fishery jetty, tourist reception centre, food court and cafeteria, change room with cloak room, amphitheatre, parking, landscape, beach furniture, site development and solid waste management facilities have been proposed for development of the project, Tourism Secretary Gagan Dhal said.
The initial investment for infrastructure development of the circuit has been estimated at `4302 crore, he said.