Puducherry to have its own Marina beach

Puducherry: Puducherry, the coastal town with beautiful beaches, where the visitors feel exhilarated, will soon have a 'Marina Beach' of its own.

The Puducherry government has decided to develop the Vambakeerappalayam beach near the lighthouse into a tourist spot and named it ‘Pondy Marina’. Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi who visited the beach on Sunday as part of ‘Clean Puducherry’ mission unveiled the name board in the beach. The beach has to be converted into a Marina beach as in Chennai, she said. “The beach has to be converted to a place where people with their families can come and spend their evenings. Buses should be operated to the beach and tourists can be taken free of cost for one week and later by fixing a ticket fare,” said the governor.

Even with the presence of the lighthouse, the fishing hamlet Vambakeerappalayam, is a ‘not so favourite’ destination for most of the tourists, Though the government had started some initiatives including dredging works, it was not able to attract the tourists in large number to the place.

“The government under the centrally sponsored Swadesh Darshan scheme has decided to develop 7 beaches in Puducherry into tourist spots, one among them being Vambakeerappalayam. A total of Rs 44 crores would be spent for the beautification works for these beaches under ‘Coastal Circuit’ scheme. The name 'Pondy Mareena' would be catchy enough to attract more tourists" Director Puducherry Tourism R. Mounisaamy told DC. “The beautification works would be started by next month,” he added.