Govt plans botanical parks at Satapada to attract tourists
Govt plans botanical parks at Satapada to attract tourists
The State Government Park is planning to set up a botanical park at Satapada and develop small islands inside Chilika Lake to attract more tourists.
A high-level meeting presided by Environment Minister S.N. Patra here on Thursday discussed development of Chilika, the largest brackish water lagoon of Asia and improvement of Palur canal in Ganjam district.
Patra told newsmen that a modern excavator will be purchased for dredging of Chilka mouth and excavation of 17.6 km stretch of Palur canal. Nalaban, which has been attracting migratory birds over the years, will also be developed, he added.
About Rs. 19 crores will be through the Chilika Development authority (CDA) in the current financial year for the overall development of the lake, the Minister informed. The meeting decided to explore the possibility of developing small isles for eco-tourism.
Patra said production is the lake has increased substantially after renovation of the lake by CDA. Fish production has increased from 1,600 tonnes in 1988 to 12,000 tonnes in 2001-02.
The State Government the help of Japan Government for further increasing the fish production and value addition to earn more foreign exchanges. The Japan Government will send a team of experts shortly. The team will train tradition fishermen about fishing without damaging the ecology. The government will launch an awareness programmes among the local people on soil conservation and the danger saused to environment by excess use of polythene in the ecologically sensitive lake area.
