The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) has submitted a proposal for the installation of three new lighthouses along the Dongri-Pali-Uttan coast to ensure safer navigation for vessels. It is less developed than Mumbai's coast.
As a result, it has been facing navigation issues for several years. The locals in the CRZ-IV region have been requesting three additional lighthouses at Katlachi Vat, Vashi Khadak, and Sharaychi Vat in addition to the New Uttan Lighthouse.
The plan has been suggested to the Union Ministry of Environment by the state administration, and they are awaiting endorsement. The cost of the project is INR 358 lakh.
The locals have been requesting these beacons for at least four years. A storm in early August last year stranded 200 boats from this largely East Indian community at sea for hours in rough weather with no way to contact people on land, increasing demands for the beacons. It was reported that one lighthouse is insufficient, and two-three accidents involving damaged boats occur every year due to navigation issues.
The dangerous coastline with sprawling rocky outcrops poses a significant challenge to the safe navigation of tiny fishing boats and other vessels that ply along the coast in Mira-Bhayander, Thane. The new lights will provide safer navigation for these boats and vessels. The coast extends up to Daman and Diu.
Rajan Vichare, a Shiv Sena MP from Thane, has been pressing for the installation of these beacons. He had offered to finance the project before the MMB consented to take on the project, according to Bernard D'Mello, president of the Pali Uttan Machimaar Association.
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