At a time when state government is aggressively promoting beach tourism, the video of a group of Russian tourists cleaning Fort Kochi beach has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the tourism department. Post video, tourism department officials inspected Fort Kochi and Kuzhuppilly beaches.
Tourism director will hold talks with officials here on cleaning up Fort Kochi beach.
Tourism department has recently prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to give a facelift to the beaches in Ernakulam and ensure better waste management, especially in Kuzhuppilly, Cherai and Munambam beaches. Ernakulam has beaches along 24km coastline.
The DPR, which proposes to develop the three beaches at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, has been submitted to the state government for administrative sanction.
“As Vembanad lake which is filled with water hyacinth and other waste meets the sea at Fort Kochi, waste gets washed ashore there. However, other beaches in the district do not face such issues. They have other problems including lack of toilets and facilities for visitors,” said a tourism official.
To foster Goan home stays among tourists, the Department of tourism Goa has also finalised agreements with MakeMyTrip, Agoda, and various other players, shared Rohan A. Khaunte, the state’s Tourism & IT Minister. Speaking to ETTravelWorld, the minister also detailed the upcoming policies and revealed plans to develop 100 villages to attract digital nomads.
As per the proposal, construction of pathway, rain shelters, parking area, renovation of watch tower at Cherai, landscaping, open gym and snack parlours are some of the facilities to be set up in the three beaches.At Cherai, cleaning activities are carried out by six workers posted by district tourism promotion council.
The official said beaches can be kept clean with the support of local bodies. “Due to shortage of workers, Fort Kochi beach is cleaned only in the morning, from 7am to noon. After the video, we have decided to employ more workers who will work from 7am to 6pm. But there is no point if the waste is not collected by Kochi corporation. The waste already collected from the beach has been laying there for days,” he said.
