Gopalpur stops cruise from ship entering port

BHUBANESWAR: The harbouring of the first luxury cruise ship on the Odisha coast faced major roadblocks after Gopalpur Port denied it permission for dropping its anchor there citing the ongoing maintenance work. It would deprive the tourists from witnessing Olive Ridley nesting at Rushikulya, birds paradise at Mangalajodi at the Chilika apart from other attractions in south Odisha like the Jirang Buddhist Monastry.
“Since berth maintenance at Gopalpur Port is going on, the port authorities did not give permission for harbouring of the cruise ship there. We have approached the port about two to three months ago,” said Sudhakar Sahoo, manager of J M Baxi Stevedoring Agency.
Silver Discoverer — the luxury cruise, departing from Chennai on January 22 and will cover visit to the other ports like Visakhapatnam, Sunderbans, Mahehkhali island, St Martin Island (Bangladesh), Nagapali Beach, Rakhine State, Mawlamyine and Hpa An Port Yazar in Yangoon in Myanmar. The cruise will land at Paradip Port on January 26.
The liner was very keen to include Gopalpur on sea port so that it can showcase Asia’s largest brackish water lake the Chilika and witness the migratory birds, Irrawady dolphins as well the Olive Ridley turtles during this period in Puri and Ganjam district. The Gopalpur port needs to come forward and welcome this new segment of business for a win-win situation, said Benjamin Simon, founder of Travel Link Tour operator.
The maiden cruise will provide much required boost to cruise tourism in Odisha and in particular to upcoming ports like Gopalpur. When the international cruise business is shifting focus to India we need to engage and enhance cruise passenger terminal facilities at existing ports with seamless immigration, custom services and tourist assistance facilities along with the offering of local arts and crafts shopping at the sites, which can generate income and support to the local community, Simon said.
The tourist will visit Buddhist heritage sites at Ratnagiri,Udayagiri and Lalitagiri, etc.