Mumbai : Encouraged by the increasing footfall at the Madras Mahabalipuram Lighthouses in Tamil Nadu and Alleppy and Cannanore Lighthouses in Kerala, the Ministry of Shipping and Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) has decided to develop 78 lighthouses in the country as centres of tourism. These lighthouses will be developed on a public-private partnership model in the first phase, a statement from DGLL read.

The identified lighthouses are in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “The Ministry of Shipping, along with the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) has drawn up an ambitious programme to develop 78 lighthouses in the country as centres of tourism in the first phase under the PPP model,” the statement said. According to DGLL, lighthouses across the world enthrall tourists with their scenic and serene surroundings and rich maritime heritage and realising their “immense potential”, the ministry through DGLL has decided to promote tourism at these sites.