With a long weekend and Independence day falling on Monday, tourist inflow from various cities and States has increased in the district.
The tourist spots in the district were packed. In many locations, the poor infrastructural facilities by the Tourism Department and the district administration were exposed.
Knowing well that there would be a large turnout due to the holiday, the official machinery should have prepared itself. However, only two boats - Pothigai and Guhan functioned to ferry tourists. The Thiruvalluvar statue, which is also a must spot for the visitors, could not be reached since some renovation works were under way, tourists complained.
At least 50,000 people from as far as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and from other districts in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Kerala arrived here since Saturday morning in private cars and vans.. As a result, the Nagercoil-Tiruvananthapuram highway suffered traffic jams during the day.
People thronged the Bhagavathi Amman Temple, Vivekananda Kendra, Thirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam, Gandhi Mandapam, Kamarajar Mandapam, the sun rise/set points, beach, Padmanabhapuram Palace and the famous Theerparappu water falls.
A staff said that they issued tickets to at least 5000 tourists for boat ride, while another 10,000 or more returned as the waiting time for the ride was a minimum three hours.
The arrangements for the visiting tourists was very poor and many women with children, could not get accommodation and were seen stranded on the roads.
A tourism department officer said that room reservations in hotels and resorts were full since August 11 onwards. Many of the hotel managers also said that the reservations were made through their online portals long ago. The alternative was to go to Kerala or Tirunelveli for overnight stay and return here in the morning, they added.
