Eden Beach set to get Blue Flag

The tag will help reduce pollutants, responsibly manage waste and marine litter

Green initiative: Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy releasing the Annual Environment Survey Report 2018-2019 prepared by the Department of Science, Technology and Environment on Wednesday. To his right is Environment Minister M. Kandasamy.

The Eden Beach at Chinnaveerampattinam has been nominated for the Blue Flag Beach certification programme by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The Ministry has planned to develop Blue Flag beaches in 13 coastal States in an effort to promote sustainable tourism. The objective was to reduce pollutants, responsibly manage solid waste and marine litter and promote sustainable development of the coastal regions.

A senior official in the Department of Science, Technology and Environment told

The Hindu that the certification would lead to construction of environment-friendly temporary structures to promote tourism on Chinnaveerampattinam beach. The activities would be fully funded by the Ministry, he said.

The moment a Blue Flag is hoisted on the beach it will be noticed by the Foundation for Environment Education in Copenhagen, Denmark, and propagated across the world for tourists to take note.

Quality check

A few days ago, a team from the Society of Integrated Coastal Management, a constituent of the Ministry, visited the beach for risk assessment and to check quality of water.

The department, as part of Environment Day celebrations on Wednesday, conducted a series of events. Students from professional colleges were involved in cleaning the beach.

Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, who was the chief guest at an event organised on the beach, released the annual Environment Survey Report. Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy, government whip R.K.R. Anantharaman and Congress MLA T. Djeamourthy attended the function.