The government has decided to construct an airstrip which can receive 50-seater aircraft at Bekal as part of efforts to develop the area into a planned tourist destination, Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the Assembly on Friday.
Replying to a submission by K. V. Kunhiraman (CPI-M), the Tourism Minister said the proposed airstrip would be located at Kariyamkundu in Periya village of Kasaragod district. The revenue authorities had surveyed the land and steps for land acquisition would be initiated as soon as the Cabinet takes a final decision in the matter, he said.
Mr. Balakrishnan said the government had convened a meeting of all stakeholders on May 25 to discuss the issue in view of the difficulty in ferrying tourists to Bakel which was fast developing into an international tourist destination. The meeting had decided to construct the airstrip so that larger aircraft could land near Bekal. The project was proposed to be implemented with the support of the State-run Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology, he added.
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Several hotel projects were in advanced stages of implementation. The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC) also had decided to set up a hotel in the Bekal resort area. When all the hotel projects are completed, Bekal would have around 1,000 rooms available for tourists, Mr. Balakrishnan said.
Workers: Parliamentary Affairs Minister M.Vijayakumar told M. Murali (Congress) that the NoRKA secretary was in touch with the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to ensure safe passage of 48 labourers trapped in labour camps at Al Khobar. The government would continue all efforts to get the labourers, 26 of who are Malayalis, back home at the earliest, he said.
Hartals: Replying to another submission by Joseph M. Puthussery (KC-M), the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said the government would consult all concerned before taking a decision on the Law Reforms Commission recommendation for legislation to ban hartals. The government did not intend to take an arbitrary stand on the complex socio-political issue. A Cabinet sub-committee had been formed on March 31 last and it would hold consultations on the various proposals, including that relating to hartals, of the Commission, the Minister said.
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