A mini tourism hub has been envisaged alongside Kadambrayar ecotourism village-Edachira stretch to provide a sprawling waterfront locale for IT professionals and others in the locality to unwind.
The Thrikkakara Municipality has joined hands with the Ernakulam District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) to carve out the tourism hub. The project got an impetus after a team led by the Chairperson of Thrikkakara Municipality, Ajitha Thankappan, inspected the weed and water hyacinth-infested waterbody.
The Kadambrayar river and the Edachira canal offer immense potential for boating and other recreational activities. Boats and a restaurant that were operated by DTPC are now idling due to the pandemic situation and the expiry of the 10-year contract period with a private firm.
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The operation and maintenance of the locale will be retendered shortly. A walkway and boat jetty here, which suffered damage in the 2018 deluge, ought to be repaired, said S. Vijayakumar, Secretary of Ernakulam DTPC.
“The municipality’s proposal has coincided with a riverfront beautification scheme that was being readied. In this, approximately 2-km-long walkways and landscaping are envisaged on either side of Kadambrayar river. They would begin from Infopark and end near the restaurant on the river bank,” he said.
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Ms. Thankappan said that the ₹1.50 crore that the municipality had earmarked in the budget would be inadequate to fund the tourism hub project. “This is because the waterbodies have to be cleaned, dredged and the banks reinforced, apart from readying of a walkway and hanging bridge. A tentative estimate has been readied, following which a DPR would be prepared. We are keen to tie up with the DTPC so that their expertise and tourism funds can be availed. This is one among the three dream projects of the municipality.”
Regular tourist boats and coracles have been envisaged here for visitors. The CSR funds of KRL, IT firms and banks could be pooled together to realise the project. Ultimately, a solution has to be found to the pollution of Kadambrayar caused by industrial units and others.
“A meeting of the Kadambrayar Samrakshana Samiti would be convened shortly in this regard, since we are unable to go ahead with a project to source drinking water from the river,” she said.
Unhindered dumping of garbage and pollutants into the river has been a perennial problem, ever since the locale was developed as an eco-tourism destination in 2010.
The locale is set to get more importance when Water Metro ferries begin service in the Vyttila-Kakkanad route in the third quarter of 2021.
A popular private water theme park is located close by the tourist spot.
The DTPC would associate with similar waterfront-beautification projects that are under way in Thripunithura Municipality as well, it is learnt.