Posted by on February 10, 2005 at 23:14:53:
JAMNAGAR: Adventure seekers can now take a leap into history and see remains of lord Krishna's kingdom at Dwarka with a scuba diving facility being initiated by the Gujarat government.
''Long thought to be part of mythology, its existence has been proved by the Archaeological Survey of India. It will be for the first time that people will be able to dive to see an ancient city,'' said S K Singh of Adsportz, an adventure Sports company with which the Gujarat government has signed an MoU for the project.
Divers can expect to see parts of its wall (still standing at some places), structural remains and pottery, he added.
The MoU for the project, which is a first of its kind in the state, was signed on Thursday by Gujarat Agriculture Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, who is in-charge of the district, with Adsportz.
The MoU proposes two projects - the scuba diving project off bet Dwarka and a Centre for Scuba Diving in the Marine national sanctuary in Jamnagar - at an estimated cost of Rs 13 crores, Singh said.
The first will be at bet Dwarka, or Shankhodar island where the original Dwarka is believed to have been built by lord Krishna a millennium ago, he said.
The feasibility study of the latter is being worked on, Singh said. The work on the first project will begin some time next month, he said, adding that they expected the project to boost the state's tourism potential in a big way.