Shipping, Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday laid foundation stone for the construction of a passenger jetty at Kanhoji Angre Island off Mumbai coast.
The construction of a passenger jetty is being undertaken as part of the Shipping Ministry’s lighthouse tourism project, which involves the development of Island and tourism development.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnvis and Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Anant Geete were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said his Ministry had drawn up an ambitious plan to develop 78 lighthouses across the country as tourist destination. The lighthouses are in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, lakshydwip, Tamilnadu, Pondicherry, Aandhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Andaman-Nicobar Island.
Gadkari said that while developing lighthouses as tourist destinations, every effort would be made to preserve the history and heritage associated with them.
Gadkari said that for several years these lighthouses and Islands had remained neglected. He said the Government’s decision to the develop the lighthouses and island as tourist attraction would give employment opportunity and new means of livelihood for the locals.
Welcoming the idea of construction of lighthouses, Chief Minister Fadnavis said the State would benefit from the proposed project. He said his Government had accorded high priority to tourism and announced that the year 2017 will be declared as “Visit Maharashtra Year”.
On its part, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) has given in principle approval to Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation for undertaking works related to tourism promotion on the island.
The jetty, being constructed at a cost of `16 crore, will facilitate smooth berthing of passenger boats and embarkation and disembarkation of the passengers at the island. The jetty will be 37 metres long and 10 metre wide and will be connected to the island by a 150 metre long approach.
The Kanhoji Angre Island lighthouse was built in 1867 by the erstwhile Government of Bombay at an expenditure of Rs1.22 lakh. Kanhoji Angre Island, earlier known as Kennery (Khanderi in Marathi) Island is situated in mid sea off the coast of Thal village near Alibag. The island is about 4.5 km from Thal, 9.5 km from Alibag and 23 km from Gateway of India in south Mumbai.
Kanhoji Angre light House marks the entry point to the Mumbai harbour and acts as prime aid to navigation of ships entering and leaving Mumbai Ports.