Gandhinagar, Aug 14 (IANS) Seventeen lighthouses along Gujarat’s coastline have been equipped with modern tourism facilities, turning structures traditionally used to guide ships into destinations showcasing the state’s maritime history and heritage.
The development is part of the Centre’s initiative to promote historically and architecturally significant lighthouses as places of educational, cultural and tourism interest.
Gujarat, which has the country’s longest coastline at 2,340.62 km, has developed tourism facilities at lighthouses at Mandvi, Rawalpir, Samiyani, Okha, Kachchhigadh, Porbandar, Mangrol, Jaffrabad, Jegri, Alang, Ghogha, Hazira, Valsad Khadi, Gopnath, Veraval, Dwarka and Umargaon.
The facilities include cafeterias, landscaped gardens, gazebos, children’s recreational areas, amphitheatres, light and sound shows, lifts and other public amenities.
The objective is to offer visitors an experience that combines recreation with an understanding of maritime history, navigation and lighthouse technology.
The initiative is being pursued under Section 23 of the Marine Aids to Navigation Act, 2021, which provides for the designation and development of heritage lighthouses, in addition to their navigational function, for educational, cultural and tourism purposes.
The Central Government has identified 75 lighthouses across the country for development with tourism facilities.
In Gujarat, lighthouse museums have also been established at Dwarka and Gopnath, where visitors can learn about the evolution of lighthouse technology and India’s maritime heritage.
The development aims to introduce younger generations to the history of maritime navigation and the technological evolution of lighthouses, while adding new destinations to Gujarat’s coastal tourism circuit.
The state’s lighthouse tourism initiative also forms part of a wider effort to highlight Gujarat’s maritime heritage. The National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) is under development in Lothal, Ahmedabad district.
The Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways describes the project as a major maritime heritage complex that will use museums, interactive exhibits and other facilities to present India’s maritime history.
The Marine Aids to Navigation Act, 2021 specifically requires heritage lighthouses to be developed without disrupting their operational status as navigational aids or compromising their structure and architecture.
The accompanying rules provide for preserving their historical, cultural, and heritage value and promoting tourism at lighthouse premises.
With the addition of visitor facilities at 17 sites, Gujarat’s lighthouses are thus being positioned not only as working maritime navigation infrastructure but also as places through which visitors can engage with the state’s long association with the sea.
–IANS
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