Scuba diving facility to be introduced near Kaup beach

West Coast Adventures will start the operations on an islet in October

Scuba diving will be started at an islet off Kaup beach in Udupi district in October. A view of the Kaup beach.

In a bid to attract tourists, the district administration will introduce scuba diving near Kaup beach in Udupi district in October.

The administration floated tenders and selected a private firm, West Coast Adventures, for it. This firm, with expert trainers, will start the operations at an islet, which is a 30-minute boat ride off Kaup beach.

The area around the small islet is shallow. There is rich marine life around it making it an ideal place for scuba diving. “The work order for the facility will be issued by the end of this week. It will be ready between mid-October and October-end,” B.R. Anitha, Assistant Director of Tourism, told

The Hindu .

The scuba diving facility will be available for eight months from October to May or outbreak of monsoon, barring those days when the weather is inclement. Experts will guide tourists.

“They will be taken in groups of up to eight persons and two experts will accompany them. The price per ticket will be about ₹4,000 per person, but there will be introductory concessions,” said Yatish Baikampady, head of another private agency which oversees tourism promotion and development of the beach. Since there is no jetty in Kaup, the tourists will be taken in 10-seater speed boats from the beach to the small islet. The antecedents of the trainers will be checked and safety would be accorded priority.

“We have given them several guidelines and the firm has to follow it, said Ms. Anitha.

“People will now be able to enjoy scuba diving in Kaup instead of going to Murudeshwar in Uttara Kannada district. We want to create links between the homestays on our coast and this scuba diving facility with the aim of propelling tourism,” said Priyanka Mary Francis, Deputy Commissioner.