Tourism boats in state of ruin in Kerala

July 29, 2012 03:54 am | Updated 03:54 am IST - ALAPPUZHA:

BLEAK PROSPECTS: Raja Kesavadas, a boat owned by the District Tourism Promotion Council, anchored at the boat jetty in Alappuzha.

BLEAK PROSPECTS: Raja Kesavadas, a boat owned by the District Tourism Promotion Council, anchored at the boat jetty in Alappuzha.

Two boats owned by the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) have been lying at anchor for repairs for nearly two years.

DTPC sources said the government order, which is required to sanction funds for repairing the boats, has not yet been issued. The boats — ‘Raja Kesavadas’ and ‘Karumadikkutan’— were purchased six years ago for Rs. 64 lakh.

The boats, able to accommodate 50 persons each, used to ply the Alappuzha-Kollam route, a much sought after service for tourists.

‘Karumadikuttan,’ anchored at Ponjikkara near the dockyard of the State Water Transport Department here, is almost in a state of ruin. ‘Raja Kesavadas,’ anchored near the DTPC office near the boat jetty, is also in a pitiable condition.

With the 60th edition of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, a major tourist attraction, on the horizon; the boats should have been repaired and brought back to operate services.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.