State to now expand scuba diving facilities to Devgad and Vengurla coast

Fancy a scuba diving trip or snorkeling expedition? By the end of this year you may be able to head to the pristine coast off Vengurla and Devgad for an underwater experience with the state government planning to expand its scuba diving facilities at Malwan to cover more locations in the Konkan.

"We are working on creating scuba diving and training facilities at Vengurla and Devgad. This will be done in around six months," minister of state for home Deepak Kesarkar, who is also the guardian minister for Sindhudurg told DNA.

Maharashtra already has the Indian Institute of Scuba Diving and Aquatic Sports (IISDA) at Tarkarli in Sindhudurg, which according to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), is one of the largest scuba diving schools in the Asia- Pacific region. It is also India's first such integrated facility.

Kesarkar said the scuba diving facilities would cover the natural corals at Nivati near Vengurla and added that training for instructors had already been launched. Each centre will cost around Rs 6 crore. However, these facilities would not be as large as the one at Malwan, he added.

Sarang Kulkarni, chief instructor and general manager of the IISDA, noted that the scuba diving facilities had created a huge opportunity at Malwan in terms of economic activity and employment generation due to increased tourism. The ground-breaking ceremony for the IISDA was conducted in 2008 and it launched operations in 2014.