KOCHI: The ambitious Kadambrayar Tourism Project is crying out for a reprieve from neglect. A scenic spot, Kadambrayar has the potential to be a tourist destination if all the projects, which had been proposed to give it a facelift, are implemented. It could turn out be a place to hang out for space-starved Kochiites.
Kadambrayar is located between Kakkanad and Palikkara close to Wonderla water theme park. The only infrastructure available for the tourists, at present, is a one-and-half kilometre long walkway along the bank of Kadambrayar river. The place had been identified and developed as a tourist destination in 2010. In order to tap into the tourism potential of the area, District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), recently, decided to introduce a slew projects aimed at beautifying the location.
DTPC secretary S Vijayakumar told Kochi Express, Kadambrayar is a very important tourist location. “A new hanging bridge connecting Kadambrayar and Manakkakadavu is under construction. We have also requested funds for the construction of basic amenities and toilets at Kadambrayar tourism destination. Using the same fund, maintenance of the walkway will be carried out. The broken tiles and railings will be replaced,” he said.
For the construction of the hanging bridge, a fund of Rs 1.25 crore has been sanctioned. For repair work, the department has sought Rs 64 lakh. More funds will be sought for the beautification of the area. The Kadambrayar Tourism Project is being supervised by a Destination Managment Committee headed by the local MLA. People can visit the place between 9 am and 7 pm daily. “Once the hanging bridge is constructed, visitors will be able to traverse the entire stretch after entering from Kakkanad-Palikkara road. This will increase the number of visitors on a daily basis. Once the construction of the hanging bridge is over, we will complete the work of developing basic facilities,” Vijayakumar said.
However, the grandiose plans of DTPC will fall flat if nothing is done about the indiscriminate dumping of waste into the river. The absence of a proper waste management system in the area is a very big problem. The river looks pathetic with weeds and water hyacinth gripping it in a choke hold. Due to this the authorities were forced to stop the boat service from Kadambrayar. However, boating at Manakkakadavu is still on. “The river has to be cleaned by the Minor Irrigation Department. Only a small portion of the river has been cleaned till date. But we hope cleaning work will be completed without delay,” said a staff of the agency which has been entrusted with maintaining the tourism spot. He said the boating service at the spot has been entrusted to a private agency. “The agency has several boats. But because of the presence of weeds along the Kadambrayar side, the boat service has been stopped here,” he said. According to him, the restaurant at the spot also is being renovated and will open soon.
Neenu K K, chairperson of Thrikakkara Municipality said the cleaning of Kadambrayar river has been included in the green protocol programme by the district administration. “But the Minor Irrigation Department stopped the cleaning operations citing fund crunch. We have written to the district administration and the Irrigation Department in this regard,” she said.In 2017, the district administration had launched a drive to clean up Kadambrayar river, one of the main water sources of the district. Around 9 km stretch of the river was cleaned using private funds. The cleaning work was carried out under Haritha Keralam project. The fund for this was raised from the Corporate Social Responsibility Fund of major institutions. However, within six months, weeds and hyacinth reclaimed the river.
Meanwhile, people living on both sides of the river complained about the dumping of waste in the waterbody. “In the dead of the night, waste from slaughterhouses is dumped into the river. Similarly, waste from the hotels in the city is brought here in trucks and dumped in the vacant spots near the tourist destination. The authorities should tighten security in the night because anti-social elements too find the deserted place a haven for their illegal operations. If possible, the number of police patrols in the area should be increased,” Alexander, who runs a hotel at Manakkakadavu, said.