Odisha lighthouses hold great tourism potential

Monday, April 12, 2021

As the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways aims improving 65 lighthouses on public-private-partnership mode, Odisha’s five lighthouses present enormous potential for tourism.

One of the five lighthouses located along the Odisha coast is the 180-year-old functional tower which continues to steer ships. The ‘False Point’ island lighthouse is located off the Kendrapara coast while the other four are located in the mainland.

The Odisha Tourism Ministry aims to develop them tourism hubs under the Sagarmala project.

The British-era False Point lighthouse, which is a 129-ft gigantic minaret-like structure of red-white bands with a huge embossed star, is noticeable from quite a distance from the Bay of Bengal.

Its location nearby massive mangrove vegetation infested with crocodiles makes it an adventurous tourist place on the eastern coast. According I. C. R. Prasad, former electrical engineer and passionate lighthouse researcher, the False Point is the oldest working lighthouse in India.

Barely 40 kms away, the Paradip lighthouse is another impressive construction with good tourism potential due to its proximity to the port town and Cuttack and Bhubaneswar cities (100 kms). It was commissioned in the 1980s.

Another century-old lighthouse is in Gopalpur in Ganjam district. The 150-year-old tower used to guide ships sailing between Rangoon and the coromandal coast ports and is already a tourist attraction. The Chilika Lake and the Gopalpur beach will be added attractions if it is developed as a tourist spot.

The Chandrabhaga lighthouse, 10 kms from the world famous Konark temple, offers a breathtaking view of the sea and its height helps tourists get a panoramic view of the town. The lighthouse has withstood the severity of cyclones like the Super Cyclone (1999), Phailin (2013) and Fani (2019).

The Puri lighthouse, four kms from the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple, is also a tourist spot. Situated on the golden beach of Puri, it is 65 kms from the Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar, and eight kms from the Puri railway station.

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