A large number of tourists visit Kanyakumari every day, but many of them do not get an opportunity to visit Tiruvalluvar statue there. Recently, general secretary of Madurai Consumer Protection Centre G. Muniasamy requested Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation to construct a hanging bridge or a connecting bridge between Vivekananda rock memorial in the sea and Tiruvalluvar statue as ferry service between the two is often disrupted owing to changing tides.
Tourism officials in Kanyakumari suggest that a connecting bridge could solve the problem, but a hanging bridge is not feasible.
“Constructing a bridge is a policy decision. But there is a long-pending proposal to construct a connecting bridge between the two,” a senior tourism official said on Sunday.
According to the official, nearly 20,000 tourists visit Kanyakumari every day between November and February. But the ferry service is able to transport only around 3,000 tourists to and from Vivekananda rock and Tiruvalluvar statue.
“Either a strong ferry jetty should be set up near the statue or the jetty at the rock should be widened. The existing jetty near the rock is able to accommodate only one boat at a time,” the official noted. In an hour, only three trips were made, carrying 300 tourists in total, the official added.
Whenever there is a high tide or low tide, the boats are stationed at one place causing a delay of two to three hours in reaching the statue from the rock memorial.
Constructing a connecting bridge would cost around Rs.3 crore, but all the tourists would be able to visit the statue without any delay, he added.
