The Pulicat area on the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh border continues to remain as a lesser known tourism destination though funds were sanctioned by the Union Ministry of Tourism under the Destination Development Scheme to promote it as an ‘adventure tourism destination.'
According to official sources, the Ministry sanctioned Rs.2.6 crore in 2008-09 for development works at Pulicat and subsequently released Rs.2.08 crore.
The State government on its part has allocated Rs.70.85 lakh for the scheme.
However, the project has remained a non-starter for the last two or three financial years thanks to the delay on the part of officials concerned in chalking out a detailed development plan.
Tiruvallur Collector Ashish Chatterjee and his predecessors were said to have declined consent for setting up the tourism information centre, a restaurant, a children's park and a car parking lot at Pulicat at the site identified by the District Tourism Department officials.
The reason they cited was that the site identified for setting up these facilities was located far away from the mainland area. Further, the proposed site was prone to severe inundation even during off-season light showers, they claimed.
Meanwhile, a section of residents of the area and district-level officials resented the non-inclination of the Tourism Department to tap the potential to develop water sports activities at Pulicat, as it had done at Mudaliyarkuppam in Kancheepuram district, located around 90 km from Chennai.
At present, some fishermen are providing boating facility without safety measures in the backwaters and are charging hefty amounts. The visitors are taken for boating without even life jackets.
The sources said they felt amused to note that the Tourism Department was contemplating to introduce a 32-seater luxury cruiser at Mudaliyarkuppam, a place which attracts weekend revellers only during lean and peak seasons in view of its location, while no effort was made to tap the tourism potential of Pulicat, a thickly populated area 60 km from Chennai.
Ironically, in one of the budget papers, the department has claimed that Pulicat is India's second largest brackish water lagoon having about 16 island villages and is much sought-after breeding ground for rare birds.
However, the local people felt happy after their long-pending demand for a bridge across the backwaters, constructed at a cost of Rs.17.15 crore under the Tsunami Emergency Assistance Project, connecting Pulicat with Pulicat Light House Kuppam Island, was fulfilled last year.
