Five more Karnataka beaches to vie for Blue Flag certification

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Blue Flag Padubidri End Point beach in Udupi district had over 2,000 visitors on Sunday (as on 6 pm). Credit: DH Photo

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has selected five more beaches in Karnataka to vie for the ‘Blue Flag’ certification, an international recognition given to beaches.

In the first phase, Padubidri Endpoint beach in Udupi and Kasarkod beach in Uttara Kannada districts had received the coveted Blue Flag certification in Karnataka - the only state in India to have got two beaches with Blue Flag accreditation.

In the second phase of the certification, the five beaches shortlisted from Karnataka include Idya beach in Surathkal, Tannirbavi beach in Mangaluru, Kodi beach in Kundapura, Belekan and Tagore beach in Uttara Kannada districts.

The Union ministry had already finalised the tender for the development of these five beaches in Karnataka for Blue Flag certification. The centre will spend Rs 10 crore each for developing these beaches in line with guidelines laid down for Blue Flag recognition.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a delay in the release of funds, sources told DH.

A team from the ministry had visited two beaches in Dakshina Kannada—Idya and Tannirbavi last month and had collected information on water quality, the sustainability of the beaches among others.

Dinesh Kumar, regional director, environment, said the team is yet to visit three other selected beaches. A list of 16 beaches was sent to the centre in 2019 for the Blue Flag certification. In this, five were selected for the second phase of the programme. To achieve international recognition, the beach needs to adopt high standards in categories including water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.

The beach also should be disabled- and eco-friendly, having first aid equipment and so on.

Blue Flag Programme for beaches and marinas is run by the international, non-government, non-profit organisation the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) based in Copenhagen. It was launched in France in 1985 and was implemented outside Europe since 2001.