Under-sea tunnel to come up in Digha soon

If you are eager to witness the aquatic lifestyle under the sea, do not lose hope as the State government is planning to set up an under-sea tunnel in Digha so that the people visiting the spot can witness aquatic life.

The ambitious project of the State government will take five years to complete. 

The State government will tie up with a Singapore based company to make this project happen. 

The main purpose of the new project is to attract more number of tourists from other states which in turn will boost the tourism sector.

In the early sixties, the then Chief Minister Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy had opened Digha as a new tourist spot. The solid sand beach which can be compared to that of Briton in England had allowed motor cars to ply. 

This was allowed till mid eighties before massive soil erosion took place. Digha over the years has been a major tourist attraction with hundreds of private hotels coming up in the area. After coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee took a number of programmes to develop the area. 

Various new initiatives were taken to make it a favourite tourist destination. Last month Banerjee had inaugurated helicopter service from Kolkata to Digha. Amusement parks were set up to woo tourists. Rope way has also been installed in the amusement park. The undersea tunnel facility to see and enjoy aquatic life from close quarters is an addition to the steps taken to develop the area as the most significant tourist spot in Eastern India

Digha Sankarpur Development Authority has already talked to a Singapore based organisation which will undertake the project. The company has expressed its interests to set up under sea tunnel. State tourism department and Urban Development department will jointly carry out the project.

A senior official of the Digha Sankarpur Development Authority (DSDA) said that this will increase the tourist flow by few margins after the project is done. West Bengal is the only state in the country to have taken up such project. 

This type of tunnel exists in Singapore and some other countries.

“The visitors from across the country will visit Digha as people will be able to walk through the tunnel and enjoy the aquatic life. This will be quite adventurous for the people as they will be able to see various sea animals,” a senior official of the Digha Sankarpur Development Authority said.

The tunnel will be made of powerful glass. It will be done under Private Public Partnership (PPP) model at an approximate cost of Rs 5 crore. 

DSDA has already talked to the Singhai Tunnel Engineering Company which sets up this type of tunnel. 

The organization will visit the post and develop a report and hand it over to the DSDA.

“We have already talked to many industrialists. The company will be assigned through competitive bidding process. This type of tunnel wherever they exit had become very popular. The new project will help in creating employment in the area,” a senior official of the DSDA said.