Lighthouse tourism: A unique aspect to strengthen India says PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday highlighted the importance of strengthening the tourism sector in India, an industry that has suffered the most amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Modi, in his 75th episode of radio podcast series Mann Ki Baat, said one 'unique aspect' of the sector is lighthouse tourism, adding "the country has been working towards promotion of the zone". Modi said that 71 lighthouses have been identified across India to strengthen facilities in order to promote tourism.

"I have talked about various aspects of tourism on multiple occasions during the Mann Ki Baat series, but lighthouses are unique when viewed from the perspective of tourists. Lighthouses have always been the centre of attraction because of their grand design.

71 lighthouses have been identified from all over the country to promote tourism. Museums, amphi-theatre, open-air theatre, cafeteria, children's park, eco-friendly cottages will be prepared in these lighthouses according to their capacity," the PM said.

Modi had spoken about the development of tourism facilities near lighthouse complexes in one of his speeches at the Maritime India Summit earlier this month.

While reminding the listeners about his speech, he thanked one "Guruprasadh Ji" from Chennai for taking interest in his request and sharing images of his visits to lighthouses in Tamil Nadu.

The PM also mentioned a "unique lighthouse" in the latest episode of his Mann Ki Baat. Modi talked about a lighthouse situated in Gujarat's Jhinjhuvada town.

He said the unique feature about the lighthouse is that it now stands tall about 100 km away from the coastline.

"Some rocks in the village suggest the presence of a very busy port in the area centuries ago, meaning the coastline was up to Jhinjhuvada before," Modi added.