Days after Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari approved a multi-crore proposal for constructing a sea-link between Okha and Bet Dwarka islands in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district, the Urban Development Ministry has started exploring ways to develop infrastructure in the religious pilgrimage site under one of its Central schemes.
Bet Dwarka is an island in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Dwarka. According to legend, Bet Dwarka, considered as the original residence of lord Krishna, was the old port during the ancient times of Krishna before Okha port was developed in Dwarka.
Union Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba told The Pioneer that a team of officials headed by Joint Secretary B Anand is on a visit to the island to assess the possibility of development works that can be undertaken in the region.
“Once the team submits its report, we will decide the further course of action in the matter,” said Gauba.
Sources in the UD Ministry said that fund might be allocated under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), which was announced early last year with a focus on holistic development of heritage cities.
An official from the Gujarat Tourism Ministry said the Central Ministry’s intervention would ensure better amenities like roads, pavements and public facilities to the visitors. About 10,000 people visit the place per day during festivals.
Gujarat’s Dwarka is already covered under the scheme that aims to preserve and revitalise the soul of the heritage city to reflect the city’s unique character by encouraging an aesthetically appealing, accessible and secure environment.
Seven other cities approved for the mission are Varanasi, Mathura, Ajmer, Badami (Karnataka), Warangal (Telangana), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) and Vellankini (Tamil Nadu). A total fund of Rs 431 crore has been allocated under the scheme to be completed by 2017.
Dwarka has been allocated around Rs 20 crore under the scheme to make it more visitor- friendly through landscape development, footpaths and provision of other amenities.
A trip to Dwarka is considered incomplete without a visit to Bet Dwarka. There are many historical temples on the island, and the most revered one is the temple of lord Krishna. According to legend, the Bet Dwarka is also believed to be the very place where lord Krishna met his childhood friend Sudama.
Besides religious importance, Bet Dwarka is also rich in archaeology and traces back to the Harappan era. On shore and off shore archeological exploration around the island indicates the existence of the sites, which were submerged due to shoreline shifting, according to the official from the Gujarat Tourism Ministry.
last month, Gadkari, besides approving a multi-crore proposal for constructing a sea- link between Okha and Bet Dwarka, had also suggested the State Government for an underwater tunnel at its end “to materialise the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
He made announcement while addressing a public meeting in the State after laying the foundation stone of a Rs4,876-crore project for widening Bhavnagar-Veraval National Highway 8E.
Gadkari said, “I hereby approve the construction of a sea-link connecting Okha and Bet Dwarka at an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore. We shall start work on it very soon. But, the Prime Minister has told me that the end of the bridge should be an undersea tunnel. I request Nitinbhai and the Chief Minister to give me suggestions as to how we can materialise this dream of Modi.”