Latest news with #TamilNadu:StrengtheningCoastalResilienceandtheEconomyProject
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Tenders floated for dugong conservation centre at Manora in Thanjavur
THANJAVUR: The Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission functioning under the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests has floated tenders for the construction of International Dugong Conservation Centre at Manora in Thanjavur district at a cost of Rs 28.58 crore. The project has to be completed within a period of 24 months. The tender was released on August 8, 2025 and the last date for submitting the bids is August 22, 2025 and on the same day the bids are to be opened. The project is to be implemented as part of the 'Tamil Nadu: Strengthening Coastal Resilience and the Economy Project (TN-SHORE)' and to be implemented with a loan from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). According to the bid documents, there will be a large main building shaped like a dugong, with two floors, which will have a digital immersive projection space, an aquarium, seagrass ecology research lab and a dugong research lab. A separate building for housing a Marine Museum will come up in the centre premises. The project includes construction of a staff quarters, a detention pond, a souvenir shop among other facilities. According to forest department officials, the centre will take up advocacy, education and capacity building activities to raise awareness about the importance of dugong conservation, promoting sustainable practices, and mobilizing global support for the protection of these charismatic marine mammals. It might be noted that the government of Tamil Nadu notified the area coming under Palk Bay as a 'Dugong Conservation Reserve' in 2022. The reserve covers the coastal water of Thanjavur and Pudukkottai districts with an area of 448 sqkm. According to estimates by experts, there are more than 200 dugongs in the Palk Bay. Dugongs are endangered mammals protected under the wildlife act.
The Hindu
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Blue Flag project to be expanded to three more Chennai beach stretches
Chennai's three beaches — Thiruvanmiyur, Palavakkam and Uthandi — are expected to be developed under the Blue Flag certification programme. Further, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is set to begin work on the second phase of the Marina Beach Blue Flag project — from the Mahatma Gandhi Statue to Nochi Nagar, opposite the Karaneeswarar Koil Street. After the inauguration of the Blue Flag project at Marina Beach by the Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sunday, Mayor R. Priya said a total of 30 acres along Loop Road had been planned for the next stage. She further said the Detailed Project Report was being prepared for these sites, and the tender would be finalised soon. The works, estimated to cost over ₹6 crore for each beach, will be funded under the Tamil Nadu: Strengthening Coastal Resilience and the Economy Project, supported by the World Bank. The plan includes new toilets and changing rooms, wheelchair-accessible paths, solar lighting, waste bins, lifeguard stations and grey water treatment systems. Seating areas and Blue Flag programme-compliant signboards will also be installed. Dedicated access for persons with disabilities will be created, according to the GCC. 'A total ₹6.02 crore has been allocated for each beach. The works will take seven months to complete, and the beaches will then be maintained for another year under the same contract by the private party engaged,' an official said. There was no mention of shops in the proposals for any of the four Blue Flag projects. To this, the Mayor said the decision to remove shops in the first phase at Marina Beach received good response from the public. 'This is also crucial to keep the beach clean — a critical criterion for Blue Flag certification. A complex can be set up for authorised vendors, and illegal shopkeepers will be evicted as per GCC regulations,' she said.
