The serene Panambur Beach, one of the major tourist attractions around Mangaluru, is now in a state of neglect with trash accumulated all over the two kilometres stretch.
With very few socialising places available around Mangaluru, Panambur Beach, right across National Highway 66 and abutting the New Mangaore Port, has been one of the easily accessible locations for denizens as well as tourists.
Panambur Beach Development Project maintained the beach for nearly 12 years without any government funding before it was asked by the Tourism Department to hand over maintenance in October last.
The district administration constituted an executive committee comprising nine members to manage the beach headed by the joint commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation. With the administration calling for tenders for maintaining the beach, technical evaluation of two bids received has been completed and financial evaluation is in progress, Deputy Director of Tourism, Dakshina Kannada, N. Manikya said.
With tourists slowly trickling in after easing of the COVID-19 lockdowns, the accumulated trash, mainly comprising river flood residues as well as urban trash that flow into the sea through canals, on the beach play spoilsport, according to a resident in the neighbourhood Sadashiva Bangera.
Chief Executive Officer of the Panambur Beach Development Project Yatish Baikampady said that its initiative in 2007 offering 15% of the profit to the Tourism Department annually was the game changer, while other bidders had sought up to ₹70 lakh per annum from the government for maintenance. The entity has paid up to ₹4 lakh when it earned profits and in some years, a nominal amount of ₹10,000 when there was no profit.
The focus is on attracting more tourists to the beach and showcasing the beauty of the coastal region. Tourism development projects should empower the local population by offering employment than be a mode of revenue generation for the government, Mr. Baikampady said. The entity did not participate in the recent tender process, he said and added that it is prepared to offer expertise to the contractor who will succeed in bidding.
Mr. Manikya said that intermittent rainfall dump the trash into the sea, which, in turn, gets washed ashore. The department has asked the city corporation to clear the trash, he added.
