Soon, Tourists May Stay In Houseboats In Odisha’s Chilika, Bhitarkanika. But Is It A Good Idea?

Tourists visiting Odisha’s Chilika and Bhitarkanika lakes will soon be able to stay in houseboats. Also, visitors to Puri may also get a chance to surf the waves at a planned annual event.

In a bid to boost tourism in the state, the Tourism Advisory Committee of the state government has recently approved an array of activities.

"The houseboats would be run by private operators on an operation-and-management basis while the annual festival at Puri will be organised in association with the Surfing Federation of India," Tourism Secretary Vishal Dev told news agency?PTI.

As part of the plan, nine tourism circuits and 13 destinations across the state would be developed.

The major destinations to be developed are Rambha and Kantilo clusters, Gandhi and Buddhist circuits, Konark, Daringbadi, Samuka beach and DAK Bungalow trail.

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The report added, “Roadshows would be organised at Chennai, Ahmadabad, Varanasi, Raipur, Surat, and Jaipur to promote Odisha as an attractive tourist destination. They have already been held at Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bangalore and Hyderabad.”

Official sources reveal that on an average, close to 1.5 crore domestic tourists and 1 lakh foreign tourists come to the state every year.?

Staying in houseboats a good idea?

Odisha’s lakes have been struggling with intense pollution that has threatened their marine life. A stuck vessel in ecologically sensitive Chilika lake is spewing oil in the lake.?

Over the years, there has been a significant increase in Chilika’s pollution level which has affected the aquatic species that the lake sustains.?

Allowing tourists to stay in houseboats may further threaten the marine life and deteriorate its condition.

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Commercialisation of the lake began years ago when state government and private investors the lake could be turned into a popular hot spot and marketed as a tourist destination.

The overloaded boats carry tourists on dolphin sighting trips without bothering about the consequences of getting their boats too close to these eco sensitive animals.

What’s imperative is that the state government and authorities require conservation and not grand plans to boost tourism.