Shivrajpur beach to beckon int'l tourists

Rajkot: The pristine Shivrajpur beach , 12 km from temple town Dwarka , is all set become a major attraction for international tourists.

Soon, Shivrajpur will be India’s first beach to get ‘Blue Flag’ certification, the world’s most acclaimed voluntary label for environment friendly beaches. Blue Flag certification is done by Denmark-based voluntary organization Foundation for Environment Education (FEE) after verifying a series of 33 stringent criteria of gren safeguards, safety of tourists, sea water quality and conservation.

FEE has certified nearly 4,500 beaches and marinas across the world till date.

Foreign tourists, especially those from Europe and the US, prefer Blue Flag beaches as the certification implies that they are safe for swimming and maintain high level of cleanliness.

The union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had selected 13 beaches from India to get this tag, but Shivrajpur is clearly the frontrunner as it has been consistently working to meet the 33 tough criteria. MoEF had selected Shivrajpur and Ghoghla and the project was carried out by Gujarat Ecological Commission (GEC). MoEF had allotted Rs eight crore while state government spent Rs four crore to work for getting this certification.

“Shivrajpur is sure to get the iconic status of Blue Flag,” a senior MoEF officer confirmed to TOI. Union territory Diu’s Ghoghla beach is also in the race to get the label.

N K Meena, district collector, Devbhumi Dwarka told TOI: “Even after getting the Blue Flag label, we have to follow the criteria very stringently. Any small lapse can result in withdrawal of this tag. Shivrajpur will be India’s first beach to get this flag.”

GEC nodal officer Nishal Joshi said, “We have trained 22 locals in Shivrajpur in maintaining 24 X 7 cleanliness at the beach. One of them has been designated as a beach manager to maintain the consistency.”

Shivrajpur has e-toilets, changing rooms and shower facility for people who come to swim. Th beach is also powered by solar power and a sewage water treatment facility has also been set up.

The district administration and GEC has prepared the beach in a way that it meets international standard like there are eco-friendly toilets, changing room, shower facility so the people can get fresh after bathing or swimming on the beach. There is a solar power plant to provide electricity on the beach and there is a sewage water treatment facility is also available.

There will be no accomodation facility at Shivrajpur as the as the aim is not to promote hotel industry that could harm the natural beauty. Tourists will have to stay in the hotels at Dwarka.

At present, there is no direct public transport to reach Shivrajpur from Dwarka and people have to use their own vehicles. The district administration has proposed that Dwarka municipality extends it’s city bus service to the beach.