There is no doubt that tourism is significant for the nation’s economy. Being the 7th largest country in the world and the second in terms of population count, tourism in India is growing at a brisk pace. With plenty of places to explore from hill stations to beaches, India is indeed a land of a variety of tourist destinations. For sure, Indian tourism is bound to hit the peak levels in the years to come.
India has attracted quite a lot of foreigners and that’s the beauty of India. In breathtaking news, India will have its first ever ‘Underwater Museum’ in Puducherry’s deep seas, which will attract divers who love to glide through a shipwreck.
INS Cuddalore, a Pondicherry-class vessel that was withdrawn from service in March this year after sailing around 30,000 nautical miles in 3 decades of service as a minesweeper, will be sent to the seabed at a modest depth of 26m about 7 km off the Puducherry coast in a bid to create the country’s first underwater museum.
This is expected to enhance the marine biodiversity and will give a push to the fishing industry. The Indian Navy agreed to donate INS Cuddalore in a bid to promote tourism. Times of India quoted Probir Banerjee, president of PondyCan, an NGO as saying, “Once the marine organisms start coming in, there will be life forms at different levels in the water for tourists to see.”
INS Cuddalore is 12-metre-wide and 60-metre-long and interesting activities such as scuba diving and snorkelling can be promoted. A route for the divers will be created with trails so that they can dive in and out of the ship to observe a beautiful marine system grow at the best scene.
“Once the marine organisms start coming in, there will be a variety of lifeforms at different levels in the water for the tourists to see,” Banerjee added in a statement. On the surface of the sea, a 3-metre radius water buoys (floating devices) are planning to be positioned which will make way for the tourists to take boat rides.
Originally published by The Times Of India.
