ALAPPUZHA: After a painful 17-day lull, the houseboat industry in Alappuzha has revved up again. On Friday, a new batch of foreign tourists enjoyed cruising along the backwaters. According to District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) secretary M Malin, the tourists had arrived in Alappuzha from Turkey.“DTPC and houseboat owners welcomed them and the operations restarted with due earnestness. Seven boats operated on Friday. We expect more tourists by next week,” Malin said.
The industry, he said, suffered a huge setback in the floods, with the entire operations coming to a standstill by August 14.“But the industry participated actively in the rescue and evacuation of people from Kuttanad,” he said.“As many as 1.5 lakh people were saved by the Tourism Department with the help of houseboats and other boat operators of Alappuzha. The jankhar arranged to evacuate people from the interior areas of Kuttanad was a big relief.”
All Kerala House Boat Owners Association (AKHBOA) president Josekutty Joseph said the industry suffered an average loss of Rs 1.2 crore per day during the floods.“Cruising remained paralysed for 17 days, causing a loss of Rs 20.40 crore. Mass cancellations happened after floods. Tourists have now started to reach Alappuzha, and we accorded a warm reception to the first batch. Another batch from Tamil Nadu also cruised on Friday,” Josekutty said. More than 500 houseboats, he said, were engaged in rescue and evacuation of people from Kuttanad.
“In addition, more than 200 boats were used as temporary shelters for the affected people, including the owners and staff within the industry,” Josekutty said.“We have also distributed relief materials worth lakhs of rupees to people staying in camps. Tourism Department deputy director Abhilash Kumar and DTPC secretary M Malin offered us all help for the rescue operations.”
Having been jolted by the Nipah virus scare during the March-May period, the year has been bad for the tourism industry, said Josekutty. After witnessing a large number of cancellations due to Nipah, the industry had barely started on the path to revival when the first bout of flooding hit Kuttanad in July.
The flow of tourists reduced and the operators placed restrictions on cruising to the interior areas of Kuttanad, including Kainakari panchayat. The massive floods which affected the region on August 14, destroyed the industry, he said.“In previous years, a good amount of tourists arrived at the time of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race. But even the boat race was cancelled this time,” he said.