Battery operated boat introduced in Bhitarkanika to ferry tourists

Bhubaneswar: Tourists at Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapada district could soon avail battery-operated boats to explore the park. The forest department has introduced an eco-friendly boat to ferry tourists in the tourism zone of Bhitarkanika.

“In the first phase, we have brought one battery-operated boat. It has a sitting capacity of eight and it could be electrically charged,” informed Divisional Forest Officer, J D Pati

The forest department has procured the boat at the cost of Rs 23 lakh.

“We will run this boat on an experimental basis for over two months and if it’s successful then we would purchase more such boats. We will fix a standardised price and will open it for tourists from August 1,” shared Pati. 

Stating that it’s environment friendly, he further added, “Since it is a noiseless boat, so there won’t be an issue of sound pollution and fuel pollution.”

It could run at a speed of 10-18 km. At 18 km speed, it could run for two and half hours while at 10 km speed for four hours. The battery of the boat takes 3 hours to get charged again, informed Pati.