KOCHI: The promised charm of mermaid at Marine Drive has gone down the drain with the project being scrapped. It was nearly two years back, that the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) proposed to install the statue of a mermaid queen in the middle of the backwaters at Marine Drive.
The aim was to erect it as an attractive figure to lure more public to the spot. During the tenure of the then GCDA chief N Venugopal the project advanced fairly well in its initial stages including obtaining sanction from CPT authorities.
But before entering the tender stage, the project switched into a go-slow mode and the initial enthusiasm too got lost. When quizzed about the status of the project, the officials of GCDA said that the project has been scrapped.
“The decision to scrap the project was taken during the final days of my stint as GCDA chairman. The major reason was that most of the government officials asked us about the profit which GCDA will get if such a project is mooted. As an agency of the government, it is not easy for GCDA to carry out the project on its own. Our efforts to convince the government that it was not with a motive to earn profit that we had come up with the proposal too fell flat,” said Venugopal.
As per the actual plan, GCDA was proposed to build a statue of the mermaid at 314.45 square metre.
The mermaid, which represents the Queen Of Arabian Sea, was supposed to have a height of 301 feet and offer a 3D View.
Three spots were also identified in the backwaters. Water space equivalent to nearly two acres of land was required for the project.
“Our plan was to erect it as a land mark in Kochi city similar to international cities like New York, which has the Statue of Liberty and Paris, the Eiffel Tower,” he said.
Meanwhile, town planners who opposed the project said that there is no need for such landmarks as far as Kochi is concerned because it is already the commercial capital of Kerala.
“Marine Drive is one of the most preferred public spaces in the city. There is no need to erect a mermaid statue to attract more visitors to the spot. Moreover, what we need is new projects that can be of any use to the public rather than ending up as a landmark,” they added.