The sea walkway at Malpe will soon get a facelift thanks to the efforts by the Malpe Development Committee. The walkway was inaugurated here in 2018.
The walkway is located near the tourist jetty at Malpe, from where boats ferry passengers to the picturesque St. Mary’s Island.
The people who visit the island visit the walkway either before or after their visit to the Island.
The district administration along with the Malpe Development Committee has decided to improve the infrastructure near the walkway to provide better facilities to the tourists visiting the spot and have allotted ₹50 lakh for this purpose.
“As part of the improvement of infrastructure, about 15,000 sqft. of land belonging to the Department of Ports will be handed over to the Malpe Development Committee soon. This will help in developing facilities on this land,” said Chandrashekshar Naik, Assistant Director of Tourism.
Regarding providing facilities at the walkway, Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL) has already drawn up an estimate for the works to be undertaken in the area.
The works to be undertaken include repair of the railings which had got damaged near the walkway, installation of some granite benches near the cafeteria, and the construction of a pathway with interlocking tiles.
Besides this, efforts will be made to improve the landscaping in the area by giving it a green touch. The drainage system in the area too will be spruced up.
“The administration is expected to go through the estimates and give its nod. After getting the administrative approval, the works are expected to start in about a month,” said Mr. Naik.
The intention behind sprucing up the walkway is to attract more tourists to the spot. “There is lot of stress on the Malpe beach owing to the large number of tourists. We want to ensure an near even distribution of tourists between the walkway and the beach. In fact, our plan is to develop the entire stretch from Malpe beach to the sea walkway,” said G. Jagadeesha, Deputy Commissioner.
