A tourism circuit will shortly link the nine pristine beaches in the 24-km-long Puthuvype-Munambam corridor.
An amount of ₹4.5 crore has been set apart to develop tourism amenities on the beaches. They include parking space, walkway, toilets, and lights. This was decided at a meeting recently convened by the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), chaired by S. Sarma, MLA.
The Harbour Engineering Department will be the implementing agency. It has been asked to ready detailed drawings of the project within a month, so that work can be tendered soon after.
“The ambitious initiative will further link Fort Kochi and Muziris heritage locales, since the nine beaches are located in between the two locales. Once developed, the beaches will also begin to host water sports as in Goa, enlivening the ambience. We would like to develop the circuit since each of the nine beaches has a unique identity, and they are located within an hour’s drive from Kochi city. Eateries, home stays, and other amenities will come up once the circuit becomes popular,” said DTPC Secretary S. Vijayakumar.
T-groins planned
Experts from IIT - Chennai have been roped in to build T-groins at 14 places on the nine beaches. The objective is to create safe areas, he added.
In the meantime, Mr. Sarma has set in motion efforts to widen and develop the busy but narrow and accident-prone 24-km-long corridor into a 10-metre-wide road. The widened stretch will then be tarred using bituminous macadam bituminous concrete (BMBC) method.
Moving over to Fort Kochi, the committee to monitor the progress of tourism development work in Fort Kochi, chaired by K.J. Maxi, MLA, has asked KITCO and Forest Industries Travancore (FIT) to speed up work on ₹10-crore worth tourism initiatives in the locale. Directions have been issued to complete critical projects by Onam.
As regards Malayattoor Kurisumudy, ₹1.5-crore has been allocated to develop a parking area and allied amenities for pilgrims. The work has been awarded to Kerala Agro-Industries Corporation.
Another ₹50 lakh has been earmarked to develop Prakritigramam at Ezhattmukham. The Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Co. Ltd. (KEL) will be the implementing agency to renovate a children’s park, install lights, build parking lots, kiosks, dressing room, and shelter for life guards.
Tourism initiatives at Bhootatankettu, Piravom, and Kadamakaduky will be finalised within a week.
