State grants Rs. 12 crore for beach development in Mangalore

Beaches at Someshwar, Ullal, Surathkal, Talapady and Sulthan Battery to be beautified.

Facilities for tourists to enjoy the view of the sea from the rocks on Someshwar beach and providing a shuttle bus service from Panambur beach to the National Highway were some of the issues that came to the fore at a meeting held at the office of Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim on Thursday.

Mr. Ibrahim had called for a meeting of tourism operators, representatives of non-governmental organisation and from various departments for developing coastal tourism.

The meeting was called following a grant of about Rs. 12 crore by the State government for the development of the Someshwar Beach, Ullal Beach, Surathkal Beach, Talapady Beach and Sulthan Battery.

‘Beautify Someshwar’

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zilla Panchayat Thulasi Maddineni expressed the need for measures to beautify Someshwar beach and also the temple pond.

The big rocks from where a splendid view of the sea could be enjoyed should be showcased in a better way, the CEO said.

Ms. Maddineni said that the present seating facility on the beach was not placed correctly as it was not showing the best view of the sea.

Parking of vehicles on Someshwar beach should be avoided, she said.

Mr. Ibrahim also pointed to the poor condition of the toilets at Someshwar beach.

Chief Executive Officer of Panambur Beach Tourism, Yatish Baikampady, whose company was also assigned the task of maintaining the beach at Someshwar, said that they had planned to start a boating facility at the pond at Someshwar Temple. He said facilities at each of the five places should be decided locally and not mandated from those sitting in Bangalore.

Bus service

Regional Transport Officer Afzal Ahmed Khan suggested having mini-bus services of Tourism Department at Panambur beach that would shuttle between the beach and the main road.

Managing Director of Summer Sands Resort, Aloysius Albuquerque Pais said it was necessary to make autorickshaw drivers aware about the importance of tourism and prvent them from fleecing tourists.

There were presentations made about the facilities necessary at the five places.

Mr. Ibrahim directed the revenue officials to identify government land available near these five places that could be used for creating facilities for tourists.