Kerala Tourism’s Seaplane project will begin its first flight from Ashtamudi lake in Kollam to Punnamada lake in Alappuzha on Sunday. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will inaugurate the seaplane service and will be part of its first flight.
This was announced by Minister for Tourism A P Anil Kumar while addressing the media here on Tuesday on the occasion of the completion of two years of the UDF Government’s rule. He said the first seaplane will land in Kerala on May 29.
It will be accorded a ‘water salute’ on May 30 at Nedumbassery. On May 31 and June 1, the seaplane will undergo various preparatory flight tests. The plane - a five-plus-one seater - has been taken on lease by a Bangalore-based company.
Other four operators are expected to begin service soon and the government expects seven to eight more seaplanes to join service by the end of this year. Listing out the achievements of the Tourism ministry, Anil Kumar said the major ones included bringing Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports under the visa-on-arrival facility for tourists from 11 countries, utilisation of 96.6 per cent of funds in 2012-13 financial year, receiving a grant of Rs 88 crore from the Centre for various tourism projects and contributing Rs 40,000 crore to the state exchequer.
Anil Kumar said that the government spent Rs 400 crore over the past two years for tourism infrastructure development adding that government sanction was accorded to projects worth Rs 300 crore. “For the first time, the turnover of the KTDC crossed Rs 100 crore,’’ he said. Listing out the achievements of the Ministry for Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes headed by him, Anil Kumar said that the department created a record by utilising 99.35 per cent of the funds allocated to it. The ‘Self Reliant Village’ project for 120 villages having at least 50 Scheduled Caste families, was launched recently by the Chief Minister. Other achievements include launching the work for setting up a medical college under the Scheduled Caste Welfare Department. The government spent Rs 50.25 crore for instituting pre-metric scholarship for weaker sections in backward communities. A Backward Class Development Department was constituted to look after the welfare of more than 80 backward communities. The State Government received a grant of Rs 40 crore over the past two years for the welfare of the backward classes, the Minister said.