The craze among people visiting the shores of Bay of Bengal, to take a short joy-ride on motorised boats, seems to have opened up an alternative avenue of income for the fisherfolk living along the coast in Kancheepuram district.
There are two sailing facilities run by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department in Kancheepuram district — where visitors can sail on their own on pedal-boats and water scooters or cruise on boats operated by the department.
However, visitors can ride on these boats only in the backwaters and not in the sea.
To cash in on the craze among weekend revellers to ride over the waves, fishermen living in Kovalam and Mamallapuram have been offering short trips on their boats to the visitors. Earlier, they offered these rides without providing life jackets to people, but now they have invested money and purchased life jackets.
A number of people have started visiting Kovalam after these short trips on the motorised fishing boats made news. Fishermen charge about Rs. 500 a trip and take not more than nine persons on a trip. In addition to a fisherman who drives the boat, there is another person to assist.
For people who find beaches in Chennai too crowded, the ones outside the city limits not only are relatively free, but also offer such additional attractions.
Fishermen are also glad that they are able to take small sums of money at least on those days when they are unable to venture deep into the waters of the Bay of Bengal for fishing. For tourists who come from outside Tamil Nadu, the boating experience completes their trip to Mamallapuram and other notable tourist attractions along the coast.
