Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Dismal conditions at boat club

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM April 29. Rusted play equipment, an overgrown children's park, ill-maintained boats, littered lake and beach and a rusted and creaky floating bridge greet hundreds of domestic tourists thronging the Veli tourist village daily.

Lack of proper planning, supervision and maintenance, funds shortage and neglect by the authorities have led to the dismal conditions at the tourist village, one of the favourite spots of holidayers from the city and adjoining districts.

Most of the handrails and metal sheet boards, which form the base of the floating bridge, which connects the landscaped village with the adjoining Pozhikkara beach, have given way due to corrosion and lack of timely maintenance.

Over half-a-dozen rails of the floating bridge, constructed across the lake, have been tied with rope and sandbags placed above some boards. Hundreds of holidayers, including children, are forced to do a balancing act to walk across the bridge.

The children's park, set up a couple of years ago with several new play equipment, has also become defunct. Only the rusted remnants of the swings and slides remain at the park, which has become almost invisible on account of the overgrown shrubs.

Although the speed, pedal and safari boats of the Kerala Tourism Department Corporation (KTDC) and the pedal boats of the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) have been made available to tourists after overhauling, the boats have not been given a fresh coat of paint. There is no boat jetty and the young and old have to virtually jump from the platform to enter the boat.

The area adjacent to the place from where the DTPC boats operate is littered and is used by the locals to ferry goods. The landscaped village, which was spotlessly clean some time back, now has heaps of garbage at several places. The two dozen cleaning staff have not been paid wages for the last three months, sources said.

At present, the sole recreation for tourists arriving at the resort is boating activities offered by the DTPC and the KTDC.

Taking advantage of the inability of the department to offer recreational facilities, a handful of people staying near the boundary of the tourist village are providing `pony rides' and motorised play equipments at a place next to the children's park.

The authorities have not bothered to repair the road leading to the village after some stretches of the half-a-km narrow road was widened for the amusement park coming up near the village.

The DTPC collects a nominal toll of Re. 1 from those crossing the bridge and parking fees from vehicles. A minimum of Rs. 1,000 is collected under both heads daily. But, the amount is neither utilised for upgrading facilities nor for the periodic maintenance, it is alleged.

The landscaping of the tourist village spread over six acres, which began in 1986 is yet to be completed. The task entrusted to noted sculptor Kanhai Kunhiraman, is still incomplete.

The department has already initiated steps for installing a new floating bridge and a boat jetty at Veli, sources said. Pre-qualification tenders have been invited by the department.

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