State govt sanctions Rs 190 crore for Ujani aqua tourism: Solapur collector

Pune: The state govt has sanctioned Rs190-crore Ujani Dam aqua tourism project submitted by the Solapur district administration.Solapur collector Kumar Ashirwad told TOI, "We received the approval during a meeting with chief secretary Sujata Saunik on Wednesday.""We have prepared a comprehensive project for aqua tourism, which will be a game changer for the district in the coming years. We have proposed various infrastructure projects for tourism," he added.According to an official, the navigational waterways of the dam are 90 km. It is ideal for water activities and transport. The width of the waterways is between 2 km and 6 km. There is ample space for sailing and boating. The depth is between 3 and 20 meters, suitable for various boats."We aim to start bird safaris. We want to set up a yacht club and multiple amenities to provide a fillip to aqua tourism here," the official said.The official said that facilities for water sports like jet skiing, banana riding, jet boating, parasailing, bumper riding, and underwater activities can be set up in Ujani."We will need at least 150 acres of land to construct a pavilion, rock pool, waterfront, boat parking, open space etc for this project," said the collector."We have planned to combine aqua tourism with agritourism in the district as the vineyard is spread over 20,000 hectares. Recently, a winery plant has been started in Malshiras tehsil in Solapur," the official added.Ujani is one of the big dams in the state, having 115 TMC of water capacity in Bhima Basin. It is on the boundaries of Indapur and Baramati tehsil of Pune district and Karmala tehsil in Solapur district, about 150km from the city.The reservoir is known as the country's avian paradise and is home to 240 species, including greater flamingo, Eurasian spoonbill, ruddy shelduck, northern shoveller, and Indian skimmer.Several bird watchers from Pune and other cities, including those outside Maharashtra, come to Ujani every year.It is considered one of the safest stopovers for migratory birds along the central Asian flyway.The dam has extensive length and width and a sea-horse-like shape with varied shorelines, multiple launch points, and safe harbour locations.There is no aqua tourism in Ujani as the villagers do not have specialised boats and they are not trained to conduct water sports activities, the official said.Mahadev Kamte, a resident of Kugaon village located in the backwaters of the dam in Karmala tehsil of Solapur, told TOI, "There is an ample opportunity for water tourism here. Many tourists come every year to watch birds. But tourism has not flourished over the years since there are no specialised boats."Locals run boat services to cross Ujani backwaters. However, it was stopped after a boat capsized in May, leading to the death of six villagers."The administration should train local youths to run boats effectively with proper precautions. Aqua tourism has a huge scope here as it has adequate backwater and landscape for setting up the required infrastructure," said Dhulabhau Kokare, a villager from Kugaon village.A section of villagers also pointed out the adverse impact of tourism on the ecology of the area."The authorities should not disturb the ecology of the region. They should construct infrastructure suitable for the region," a villager said.