T. Venkatesh, Deputy Commissioner, said that more huts would be set up on the Malpe beach here to attract tourists. He was chairing a meeting of the Malpe Beach Development Committee at the District Offices Complex here.
According to a press release issued by the Department of Information, Mr. Venkatesh said that though there were six huts on the beach, they were all in poor shape.
He directed D. Manjunathaiah, Commissioner of Udupi City Municipal Council, to repair the existing huts and take steps to set up nine more huts on the beach.
He had studied the plan and estimates to construct 24 shops on the beach. He said that the cost of construction should be borne equally by the owners of the shops and the Malpe Development Committee. He directed the officers to take steps to see that these shops were not sub-let by the owners.
Besides, steps should be taken to see that these shops sold good quality products. None of the shops on the beach should be allowed to encroach upon footpaths. “Maintenance of cleanliness should be given priority. Periodic checks should be conducted by the municipal council to see if cleanliness is being maintained on the beach,” he said.
Mr. Venkatesh said that the Malpe Development Committee had paid Rs. 1.8 lakh rent to BSNL for providing WiFi facility to tourists for the last three months. But there were complaints with regard to Wi-Fi connectivity. He directed Mr. Manjunathaiah to scrap this agreement. Instead, a meeting should be held with the officials of the BSNL and the latter should be asked to provide free Wi-Fi facility on the beach, he said.
Facilities such as police umbrella, barricades and hump reflectors as demanded by the Police Department should be provided. LED lamps should be installed on lampposts on the beach. Proper signboards indicating the way to the beach should be installed, he said.
The inter-locking tiles on the beach road, which were damaged due to sea erosion on the beach recently, should be replaced. He would conduct a spot inspection on providing vehicle parking facility and setting up of an autorickshaw stand on the beach, he said.
Some house owners near the beach had constructed additional rooms illegally. Such rooms should be demolished, with police help, if necessary, Mr. Venkatesh said.
Meenakshi Bannanje, CMC president, Sandhya, vice-president, and Yashpal Suvarna, Prashanth Amin, Narayan Kundapur, councillors, were present.
