After the long wait of six months, the boating services in Veli lake in Veli Tourist Village has resumed.
The services, which used to attract a large numbers of tourists, were interrupted for the past six months due to the lake being clogged with water hyacinths.
The lake was cleared of water hyacinths by breaking down the sand bank separating the lake from the sea and allowing the weed to float to the sea. ‘’We usually break the sand bank when the water level cross 120 centimetres. However, this was not possible earlier during summer because of insufficient summer rain. After the heavy monsoon rains recently, we broke the sand bank and the weeds were washed away, ‘’ said Veli Tourist Village deputy director Vijayakumaran.
‘’Boating was almost impossible in the earlier months due to the lake being clogged by water hyacinths. We faced a drop in revenue of more than Rs 10 lakh during the last six months. The revenue from boating in the vacation months also dropped compared to the previous years,’’ he added.
‘’“The polluted, stinking and weed-covered lake has deterred many tourists from coming here. Now despite the lake being cleared, people are reluctant to come and the monsoon has also greatly reduced the number of visitors.
The boating services are yet to be profitable as the number of tourists has fallen. Instead of awarding yearly contracts, measures should be taken to find a permanent solution to the problem of weeds,’’ says a boat driver.
Every year, the Department of Tourism invites tenders for the cleaning of the lake. But this time, the weed-removing process using excavators did not go beyond five days.
The Coastal Shipping and Inland Navigation Department’s attempt to remove the weeds also did not make much headway. The locals allege that the quotation was awarded to an inexperienced contractor due to political influence.
The lake is also facing pollution because water from the Amayizhanjan canal and the Attakkulangara, Kannammoola and Chackai drainages flow into it. This creates a perfect environment for the prolific growth of water hyacinths. So the possibility of weeds returning after the monsoon season is high.
The tourist season is set to start from September 1 and last till March 31. The village currently has 13 boats including three speed boats, one high-speed boat, three wooden boats, one safari boat, one rowing boat and four pedal boats.
The Tourist village officials allege that the boats used here are outdated and most of them are in a dilapidated condition. The proposal to contribute new boats to the village made by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation has not yielded any result, the officials said.
Meanwhile, tourists and the general public are also facing a lot of hardship to get to the tourist village as the road linking the Veli railway station to the Veli tourist village is in very bad shape.