Now Reading: Nashik tribal hamlet Udhamal to be India’s first dark sky community
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Nashik tribal hamlet Udhamal to be India’s first dark sky community
Udhamal, a Kokna tribal village in Nashik district's Surgana taluka, is on track to become India's first internationally recognised Dark Sky Community. The gram sabha has passed a resolution under the Panchayats…
Udhamal, a Kokna tribal village in Nashik district's Surgana taluka, is on track to become India's first internationally recognised Dark Sky Community. The gram sabha has passed a resolution under the Panchayats Act to shift to environment-friendly outdoor lighting and conserve the night sky.
The district administration has approved ₹42.14 lakh under the Annual Tribal Sub-Plan for 2026-27 to fund sky quality assessment, lighting upgrades and astronomy awareness. Nashik Collector Ayush Prasad is driving the project, which aims to get local students interested in space science.
The initiative is part of Maharashtra's proposed State Dark Sky Policy. Eleven sites including Pench, Tadoba and Lonar Crater Lake have been identified for astro-tourism development. Udhamal will seek formal certification from DarkSky International to become India's first internationally designated Dark Sky Community.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The DarkSky International certification is not merely a branding exercise. It requires a legally enforceable outdoor lighting ordinance and annual monitoring. Udhamal's gram sabha resolution starts that process. Astro-tourism worldwide draws high-spending repeat visitors: in Arizona, certified communities report a 20-30% increase in overnight stays. For Maharashtra's proposed 10-other-site network, Udhamal is the feasibility test. If certification is granted, the policy's cost per site will fall sharply, making state funding stretch further. The next milestone: DarkSky International's pre-certification assessment, which will reveal whether Udhamal's natural darkness survives the approach road lighting.
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
