Just came back from a trip to Gangasagar by helicopter. Saibal Thakurtha Chief Town Planner and A Latua ADM S-24Paraganas travelled with me. The travel time, one way, was 35 minutes. At Sagar, inspected sites with Shri Bankim Hazra Chairman Gangasagar Bakkhali Development Authority & MLA, SDO, BDO and others. We wish to start planning soon. For this, all ongoing efforts need to be brought to one map initially: ICZM Worls Bank Project, Deep Sea Port Plan, Ring Road plan, Eco Tourism Plan, Tourist Department/ PWD/ PHED Plans etc need to be converged. Thereafter, we will start a survey so that the contours of a pilgrimage based eco-town emerges, where Jammu Island will be put on trekking route and Bakkhali will be connected.
I went to Sagar after a year or so. I found the new Gangasagar-Bakkhali Development Authority has been doing a very good job despite odds of low manpower and remote location. They have set up their office in a new blue-and-white building, coordinating tourist lodge construction, ITI building, concrete road and other projects. I also saw a new windmill being set up - which I'd not seen earlier - and I took a picture taken from the helicopter just before landing. Here is it:
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| Windmill under construction at Sagar |
Here are two other pictures:
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At Behala Airport:
Saibal Thakurtha, me, Latua |
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Instrument panel:
before take-off |
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Here is a clipping from today's Times of India:
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Great news........Best wishes for all three projects..............29,000 acre for raghunathpur means morethan 100 sq. km. Enough to support 3-5 lacs population
ReplyDeleteSir, very nice to see that the Gangasagar island is receiving your attention and care. One of the best places to visit if one wants to relax far from hustle and bustle of the city in the midst of nature in its purest form. I used to visit the island every year 1997-1999 especially during the Gangasagar Mela when the district administration would shift to the island. My father was DM South 24 Parganas then. Despite the huge crowd the place was still soothing during the mela days as well. The island and its surrounding have immense tourism potential - it is a unique place to visit. Only caution is that pollution norms and controls should be strictly enforced to ensure that the fragile ecology is not disturbed.
ReplyDelete- Syed Tanvir Hussain