The Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) has opened up 75 of 204 lighthouses for sightseeing. Between 2024 and 2025, 18 lakh tourists visited the lighthouses with the most popular being Mahabalipuram and Chennai (TN), Alleppey (Kerala), Puri (Odisha) and Dwarka (Gujarat). The DGLL will soon start light-and-sound shows at the historic Fort Aguada lighthouse which is operated and maintained by it. The DGLL wanted to spruce up the lighthouse at Campal but the plan was dropped as the Goa govt was unwilling to give land for the project, a necessity for the DGLL. Now the DGLL and Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) are in discussion to renovate the more than 100-year-old lighthouse on St Jacinto Island, near Vasco. Perhaps it is presumed that the ’takeover’ will be easy as the island falls under MPA’s jurisdiction. This beautiful idyllic island with a panoramic sea-view hosting unique biodiversity and rocks would lose its charm if the DGLL goes ahead with its plans. Hordes of tourists will result in parking issues, pollution, garbage and environmental degradation of St Jacinto Island. Pray that better sense prevails and the island is spared from tourists.
