The Regional Town Planning Office has mooted the setting up of a statutory body such as a Kozhikode Beach Management Council (KBMC) for the administrative and financial sustainability of the beach.
The District Collector could be the chairman of the council, with representatives of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), Kozhikode Corporation, Town Planning Department, and Port Office as well as local MLA and sub inspectors of the Vellayil and Town police stations as members.
“The establishment of a council will help improve the economic, environmental and social value of the beach,” said Regional Town Planner K.V. Abdul Malik here on Monday.
A study carried out by the Town Planning Department and the School of Architecture, Government Engineering College, Thrissur, has pointed out that a management is required to provide guidance, direction and the setting of standards for managing activities on the beach and creating a safe and welcome environment, making the beach a social hub of the city.
Considering its character and intensity of activity, the 1.5 km Kozhikode beach stretch from Hotel Sea Queen to Vellayil harbour has been divided into five zones.
One of the main problems on the beach is the ill-maintained footpath. A health club under the civic body is almost defunct. The areas used for walking and playing have neither natural shades nor shelters.
Safety
The existing system offered no parks or gaming areas for children. Elderly, differently abled, women, and LGBT persons have little or no facilities on the beach. “Separate playing areas should designated for children. Likewise, round-the-clock surveillance is needed for the safety of women and children, and LGBT communities,” he said.
Specific parking management should be implemented on the beach. Sightseeing, sunbathing, windsurfing, walking and fishing are common on the beach. But traffic on the Beach Road, especially during festivals, goes haywire.
Over 1,000 motorbikes and 500 cars are parked on the beach on Sunday evenings from 3 p.m. to 5.45 p.m. “The on-street parking includes both angle parking and parallel parking,” said Mr. Malik. Introducing paid parking under supervision will help raise revenue.
He said all zones of the beach faced the problem of waste dumping from shops, street vendors, visitors, industries, residents and drainage channels running to the sea.
