Two-day Indian lighthouse festival 3.0 concludes

Visakhapatnam: The two-day Indian Lighthouse Festival 3.0 concluded on a high note, with Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal underlining the event helped the city of Visakhapatnam emerge as ‘a beacon of India’s maritime heritage and coastal culture’.

Speaking at the valedictory session of the Indian Lighthouse Festival 3.0 here on Saturday, the Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Lighthouse Festival was envisioned as a celebration of people, culture and heritage and Visakhapatnam has exceeded all expectations. The vibrant performances, cultural expressions, local crafts, culinary diversity, fashion presentations, and night-time illumination have transformed this venue into a living celebration of India’s coastal identity.”

At the valedictory session, Sarbananda Sonowal announced the development of the first Lighthouse Museum of Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam, envisioned as a centre for maritime education, heritage preservation and tourism promotion. Building on the success of developing 75 lighthouses as tourism destinations, Sonowal said the government now proposes to develop an additional 25 lighthouses nationwide, with a special focus on identifying more suitable sites in Andhra Pradesh to further boost lighthouse-led tourism.

Also, the Union Minister laid the foundation stone virtually from Vizag for re-construction of staff quarters at Junglighat, Sri Vijaya Puram in Andaman & Nicobar Islands and inaugurated the light and sound projection mapping show at Aguada Lighthouse in Goa.