A large number of tourists were seen at Malpe Beach on the occasion of Navratri, in Udupi on Sunday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
With tourists flocking the coastal districts during Navaratri, beaches in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi saw huge crowds on Sunday.
Heavy crowd was seen on Panambur and Tannirbavi beaches in Mangaluru and Malpe, and Kaup and Padubidri beaches in Udupi. With car parking areas on major beaches full, tourists and local visitors were forced to park on the sides of roads leading to beaches.
Yatish Baikampady, a beach tourism promoter in Mangaluru, said that even Chitrapura beach in Mangaluru which is normally not visited by many tourists saw a huge crowd in the evening. “Many roads leading to the beaches were full of vehicles. There was heavy traffic on National Highway 66,” he said.
The Blue Flag-certified beach at Padubidri drew a large number of visitors on the day too.
Chandrahas Shetty, president, Association of Lodges, Dakshina Kannada, said that there was heavy demand for rooms in lodges and hotels in Mangaluru for the past five days. “The city alone has about 2,400 rooms in about 60 odd lodges and hotels. No rooms have been available for the past four days,” he said.
Mr. Shetty said that beaches are the major attraction for tourists in Mangaluru. Hence, they came in large numbers as it is also mid-term holiday season for educational institutes.
Mr. Baikampady said that an actor from Hassan could not get a room in any of the hotels in the city on Saturday. “Finally, he was accommodated at a hotel in Bajpe,” he said.
A large number of devotees visited the Krishna Mutt/Temple in Udupi on the day. The mutt’s parking area was full and vehicles were seen parked on the sides of roads leading to the parking area.
There was heavy footfall at Kukke Subrahmanya Temple, Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple, Kateel Durgaparameshwari Temple, Kolluru Mookambika Temple and other Devi temples in the twin districts.
