Ramanathapuram
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has purchased a glass bottom boat and two fibreglass passenger vessels and began installing buoys for the demarcation of the eco-tourism zone around four islands in the Gulf of Mannar (GoM), ahead of introducing the ‘glass bottom boat eco-tourism’.
The much awaited tourism in the GoM Marine National Park, during the middle of July, would help tourists to get a closer look at underwater treasures, including the corals around the islands of Kurusadai, Poomarichan, Pullivasal and Shingle.
The department has purchased two fibreglass passenger boats, each at the cost of ₹12 lakh and one glass bottom boat at the cost of ₹10 lakh and they were presently berthed at the renovated jetty at Kurusadai island. After floating tenders, the department had purchased the boats from Puducherry-based ‘SeaStar water sports’, officials said.
The passenger boat would have capacity to carry about 15 people and the glass bottom boat, 10 people, they said. “The tourism, aimed at developing the local community and creating awareness on the rich biosphere reserve in GoM would be in the small scale in the beginning,” officials said.
The department has drawn up plans to promote eco-tourism with community participation and modalities of the ‘Community based eco tourism’ were being worked out, they said. An ‘Eco-development committee’ would be set up to involve the local fishing community in implementing the project, they said.
When a section of local people objected to installing the buoys, the officials explained that the project was not aimed at making money but to but help them with micro credits, create infrastructure facilities and take up community services in the fishing hamlets.
The Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, which was entrusted with the task of installing buoys had installed eight of 26 buoys in the space of 500 meters between two buoys. The specially designed sinkers kept the buoys at the designated spots and no case of drifting was reported, the officials said. The department had already constructed a jetty at Kunthukal at the cost of ₹5 lakh and renovated the existing jetty at Kurusadai at the cost of ₹ 2 lakh, they said.
