Chennai: Eight beaches of India, spread across five States and two Union Territories, have been awarded the ‘Blue Flag’ by an International Jury comprising of eminent members viz UNEP, UNWTO, FEE, IUCN.
The beaches that have been awarded the âBLUE FLAGâ are Shivrajpur (Dwarka-Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (AP), Golden (Puri-Odisha) and Radhanagar (A&N Islands).
India has also been awarded a 3rd Prize by the International Jury under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal regions.
“It is an outstanding feat considering that no ‘BLUE FLAG’ nation has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a single attempt,” Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said in a tweet message adding “this is also a global recognition of Indiaâs conservation and sustainable development efforts”.
“India is also the first country in âAsia-Pacificâ region which has achieved this feat in just about 2 yearsâ time,” Javadekar further stated in another tweet.
Japan, South Korea and UAE are the only other Asian nations who have been conferred with a couple of Blue Flag beaches, however, in a time frame of about 5 to 6 years. India is now in the league of 50 ‘Blue Flag’ countries.