The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated India’s first Lighthouse Festival at Fort Aguada lighthouse, Sinquerim, yesterday.
The inaugural was also attended by Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Tourism Shripad Naik, and Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte.
The 3-day festival (Sept 23, 2023 to Sept 25, 2023) will be celebrated across all the lighthouses in the country in a bid to promote these historic spots as tourist destinations.
The festival also aims at boosting tourism and fostering an appreciation for the country’s maritime history and the invaluable role of lighthouses in the coastal regions.
The event will feature local artists, dance troupes, food and culinary stalls, music concerts etc. Historians, archaeologists, cultural anthropologists and other savants will participate in discussions around the country’s marine history during this event.
Sonowal earlier launched a campaign ‘Lighthouse Heritage Tourism’ to transform 75 historic lighthouses into tourist spots by renovating them with suitable facilities.
The country has at least 203 lighthouses spread across its 7,517 km coastline.
According to an official statement, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) plans on leveraging the Indian Lighthouse Festival to transform historic India’s many lighthouses into world class tourist hotspots through public private partnerships (PPP).