Tourism people in the Vizhinjam-Kovalam region are perturbed by the impact the proposed Vizhinjam port may have on their burgeoning industry.
They have recently met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to request the government not to “kill the goose that lays the golden egg” while going after the “foolish” urge to implement what is being touted as a “dream project.”
The South Kerala Hoteliers’ Forum (SKHF), representing the interests of the tourism industry in the area, told the Chief Minister that the coming of the port would mean the immediate closure of 31 big and small tourist resorts stretching from Vizhinjam to Adimalathura 2.3 km away.
Together, these resorts have 832 rooms and they employ nearly 3,000 people directly. The breakwater structures to be constructed for the shipping channel would stretch from Vizhinjam to even beyond Adimalathura, parallel to the coast.
The forum, in their representation, said the port would have a destructive impact on the tourism in Kovalam also. Kerala Tourism is known all over the world for the beauty that is Kovalam Beach, which is just a couple of kilometres to the north of Vizhinjam.
Erosion
Quoting experts, the forum said the dynamics of the sea currents along the southern stretch of the Kerala coast was such that there would be erosion of the coast to the north of any breakwater constructed into the sea and accretion of sand along the stretch lying to the south. This is the experience noticed in the case of all the minor breakwaters constructed along the south Kerala coast. So Kovalam coast, lying immediately to the north of the proposed port, might experience erosion. Further, oil spills from the ships visiting the port would reach the sea off the nearby Kovalam coast spoiling the place for sunbathing and swimming.
“Can you imagine Kerala tourism without Kovalam,” the forum asked. There are more than 150 hotels, resorts and home stay facilities with a total of 2,750 rooms in Kovalam, directly employing more than 10,000 people. The total market value of established tourism infrastructure in south Kerala will come to more than Rs.20,000 crore, according the forum’s assessment.
The forum said it did not believe the contention of the supporters of the port project that a cruise liner terminal that would come with the project would increase the flow of tourists to Kovalam. Once the natural ambience was gone, tourists would keep away from the place, the forum feared.
It said that a port to be constructed at an estimated cost of more than Rs.4,010 crore, destroying the Kerala prime tourist destination where the present infrastructure to receive visitors had more than four times that amount as its market worth, made no business sense.
The forum also drew the attention of the government to the point that the port, according to the official assessment itself, would generate only around 550 jobs directly, which is less than 5 per cent of the jobs it would destroy in the tourism sector if this area were to vanish from the tourism map. This area accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the total revenue of more than Rs.19,000 crore (according to the 2011 official data) generated by the tourism industry in the State.
Keywords: Vizhinjam port, tourism industry
The fishermen too cannot live in outer space. Tell me where are we going to relocate them? Think of the children-the future generation, living in a condition where all basic needs are denied.A special feature of Southern Kerala’s Sea Coast is the narrow continental shelf. Its sharp drop is the reason for this natural abyssal depth.
According to Oceanographic and Environmental experts, the Wadge Bank situated 45 to 60 kilometres off the Vizhinjam Coast will be the first casualty. It is the breeding ground for 200 odd edible varieties of fish and is the largest coral reef of the Indian Ocean. The area is ear-marked as the Marine Protected Area.
The construction of Vizhinjam Fishing Harbour began in 1962,is unfinished even today. The Bay space inside the harbour is shrunk due to sedimentation.The depletion of sand on the north and the accretion of sand on the south of the harbor and the sedimentation is unique to Kerala.Eg-Vizhinjam and Muthapozhi harbors. Development at what cost?
May I humbly submit that I have studied this project for the past ten
years and more, and even wrote articles in business journals.
The true fact is that this is an environmental disaster, and the core
fundamentals on which the project is envisaged -flawed.
Firstly the location is totally out of context, with the actual needs.
Secondly, the design of the breakwaters has used conventional rock
rubble, and therefore the cost is astronomical. Modern technological
innovations are available.
I had on a couple of occasions presented alternative design
considerations and even alternative locations, to Govt. In both the
scenarios the tourism industry at Kovalam is not affected, and the
beaches remain intact.
There are other ways to make this an extremely viable venture - not
just a port but a project involving all the stake holders - Kovalam
tourism and all tourism interests,the fishing community,port
operators,state govt,real estate,infrastructure developers, banks.
Anybody listening ?
Request the The Hindu and the reporter to go beyond just 'reporting' statements by various lobbies whose only aim is profits. Kindly look at the bigger picture of the benefits that the port will bring to the whole of Kerala and India. And even if it is for the sake of 'reporting', kindly desist from printing such unsubstantiated 'facts' and quoting such dubious 'experts'.
P.S : Not just the reporter, but the reader too can write using 'quotes'!
think of the employment and business that can come with a port in the city. We need to compromise some where . we cant make such project in outer space! where there is no shops no houses no fish. I would say given the positive impact the negative should be addressed in best possible way not hampering the project
The condition of the fishing community will be worsened. They are not aware of the impending disaster. The 6 km breakwater would deny access to the fishermen of eleven villages (from Vizhinjam to Adimalathura) to the sea. Balaramapuram-Vizhinjam railway line is scrapped. What is the envisaged alternative method for transporting? Are the roads are wide enough to withstand the heavy traffic of the trucks? An unbiased study on the impact of the proposed project on fishermen community has to be done. The breakwater and construction work in the sea and land would badly affect the sensitive ecosystem. The proposed port 250 meters away from the Vizhinjam Fishing Harbour, will result in the destruction of the fishing harbour. There are plenty of similar serious problems which have to be addressed.
What about numerous resorts and hotels that operate in places like Goa & Singapore near to the mega ports? Also why the same tourism industry didnot voice against Vallarpadom, similar to Vizhinjam, only 200km away..?
It is well known that Goa/Singapore are major tourist destinations with resorts/hotels/beaches in close vicinity to Mega-ports at Margoa & Singapore. Nobody seems complaining there & in fact Cruise terminals at these ports have increased the tourism industry growth.
It is unfortunate that there are some who are opposed to this dream project for selfish & other reasons.It should be noted that majority of people in Trivandrum/Kerala want this Vizhinjam port at earliest as seen by the fact that this project is included in the agenda of both UDF & LDF..
kovolam is far frm all these... and vizhinjam can change the indian economy
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