Puri, Oct 7 (PTI) Union Minister Ashwini Choubey on Thursday said coastal environment, its ecology and wildlife should get importance when beaches are beautified in the country.

Speaking at a programme at the Blue Flag beach in Puri, the Minister of State for Environment and Forests said the rare olive ridley turtles and other marine animals should be protected while ensuring the cleanliness of beaches.

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"The Blue Flag beach needs to be maintained properly as it is evaluated every year," he said, asking the authorities to make the temple town's coastline encroachment free.

Ten beaches in India have been awarded the prestigious certification. There are 4,000 Blue Flag beaches in the world, the minister said.

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Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi said efforts should be made to clean all the beaches in the state, which has 480 km of coastline.

Official sources said the state government is developing five more beaches to secure the Blue Flag certification as part of its efforts to boost tourism.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)