On Sunday Union Minister of Environment, Forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar announced, Eight Indian beaches that have received the ‘coveted’ Blue Flag certification. Mentioning Shivrajpur Beach in Dwarka, Gujarat; the Ghoghla Beach in Diu; the Kasarkod and Padubidri beaches in Karnataka; the Kappad Beach in Kerala; the Rushikonda Beach in Andhra Pradesh; the Golden Beach in Odisha and the Radhanagar Beach in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are now ‘Blue Flag’ certified.
Operated by Foundation for Environmental Education, Denmark, Blue Flag is an iconic voluntary award for beaches, marinas, and sustainable boating tourism operators which are awarded to those that meet and maintain the criteria of a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety and accessibility.
On Twitter, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar declared this proud moment for getting awarded as first Blue for eight beaches but also international recognization for cleanliness and coastal.
He tweeted, “An outstanding feat, as no #BLUEFLAG nation has ever been awarded for 8 beaches in a single attempt (sic).” He added, “Proud moment for India; all 8 beaches recommended by government gets coveted International #Blueflag Certification (sic).”
During his interaction with the media, Javadekar shared, “The #Blueflag certification accorded to India’s 8 beaches by an international jury comprising of @IUCN, @UNWTO, @UNEP, etc. is also a global recognition of India’s conservation and sustainable development efforts (sic).” A statement released by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change revealed that India has also been awarded the third prize by the International Jury under the “International Best Practices” for pollution control in coastal regions.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi narrated that the Blue Flag certification for eight beaches as a ‘wonderful feat’, and added that, it showcases the value of India attaches to protecting such spots and furthering sustainable development.
While Japan, South Korea, and UAE have been conferred with a couple of Blue Flag beaches in a time frame of about 5 to 6 years, Javadekar stated that India is the first country in the “Asia-Pacific” region which has achieved this feat in just about 2 years’ time and is now in the league of 50 “BLUE FLAG” countries.
