Mokarsagar wetland to be developed as eco-tourism destination: Bavaliya
Gosabara-Mokarsagar wetland is formed by the Karli Recharge Reservoir and Karli Tidal Regulator of the state irrigation department and is spread over 90 square kilometres.
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Water Resources and Water Supply Minister Kunvarji BavaliyaThe Gujarat government will develop Mokarsagar wetland complex in Porbandar district as a sustainable eco-tourism destination at the cost of around Rs 200 crore, said Water Resources and Water Supply Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya on Wednesday.
Visiting to the Karli-Gosabara reservoir, also called Mokarsagar, on the occasion of the World Water Day, the minister discussed the proposed development of this wetland with Porbandar district collector Ashok Sharma and officials of irrigation and salinity ingress prevention departments as well as forest department.
“It is the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to develop this area… The government has plans to undertake a multi-purpose project to develop this area as a tourism destination, to control salinity ingress and improve habitat of birds that migrate here… The Rs 200-crore proposed project will be sanctioned soon,” Bavaliya told journalists in Porbandar.
He added that the project will provide jobs to local youths and augment the availability of irrigation water on the coastal belt.
Gosabara-Mokarsagar wetland is formed by the Karli Recharge Reservoir and Karli Tidal Regulator of the state irrigation department and is spread over 90 square kilometres.
A bird survey conducted jointly by the Bird Conservation Society of Gujarat and Gujarat forest department had recorded 1.17 lakh birds of 186 species here.
An official release quoted the Minister as saying that the project will be called Development of Karli Recharge Reservoir and Mokarsagar as a World Sustainable Ecotourism Destination. Bavaliya said that local youths are being trained to become eco-tourism guides.
“We have plans to develop an interpretation zone, guesthouses for tourists and food courts on public-private-partnership mode, parking lots, watchtower and bird walks as part of the project,” Bavaliya told The Indian Express after the meeting.
Mokarsagar wetland is near Madhavpur beach where the forest department is running a sea turtle hatchery as part of its efforts to conserve green sea turtles and olive ridley turtles that nest along Gujarat coast.
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