The city will soon have a new hangout in addition to the Chunnambar backwaters providing an opportunity for locals and tourists to spend quality time in the lap of nature.
Chinna Veerampattinam, a non-descript coastal hamlet sandwiched between Chunnambar and Periya Veerampattinam, has been developed into a recreational and ecotourism destination with the involvement of the local community.
The project is supported by the Tourism Department and funded by Ille-et-Vilaine, a region in France, as part of its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Puducherry government.
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Augustine Brutus Jaykumar, director of Intercultural Network for Development and Peace (INDP), a Puducherry-based NGO which is implementing the project told The Hindu that eco tourism with the participation of the local communities had gained significance in recent years.
Several amenities have been provided in the village by involving the locals at all levels of the project aimed at providing a meaningful and sustainable livelihood to them.
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To start with a group of villagers from Chinna Veerampattinam were taken on exposure visits to popular ecotourism destinations like Mahabalipuram and Kovalam to learn about participatory tourism and how it has become a source of income for the local communities, he said.
A slew of development and landscaping works have been implemented in the village including construction of a pathway from the village to the beach, children’s park with play materials, cement benches with tents for tourists and lighting and parking facilities.
Food joints
A core committee comprising of members of the fishermen community, women and youth has suggested food joints for sale of freshly caught fish, catamaran rides on the backwaters and boarding facilities for tourists.
All the facilities would be managed by women and youth to promote and have their participation in eco-tourism activity. Local youth would be appointed as lifeguards to ensure safety of tourists. The locals will also be responsible for keeping the beach clean.
Muruganandam Mandjiny, local representative of Ille-et-Vilaine said that the project entirely funded by Ille-et-Vilaine at Rs.34 lakh would go on stream from February 4. The local community are the stakeholders of the project.
Ille-et-Vilaine which has adequate experience in managing eco-sustainable tourism in France would provide technical advice to the locals and hand over the project to them over a period of time. We are going to form a society or cooperative for future sustainability and management of the project, he said.
A five member team headed by Tascon-Mennetrier, Councilor, Vice-president of Ille-et-Vilaine who are on a visit to the city from February 1 will officially inaugurate the “Chinna Veerampattinam Sustainable Eco-tourism project” on February 4 and finalise an action plan on development of tourism in the Union Territory.