KANNIYAKUMARI: A majority of the commercial establishments in Kanniyakumari remained shut on Thursday as the protest of shop owners against the recent eviction of shops around the Kanniambalam Mandapam continued for the second day, severely affecting tourists visiting the town.
Most of the restaurants have downed their shutters, and tourists, several of whom were from outside Tamil Nadu, faced difficulties in purchasing food and essential items, prompting many of them to abruptly drop their plans or cut their travel short and leave.
On Tuesday, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, based on a public litigation, ordered the immediate eviction of 12 shops around the mandapam, located at the north end of Sannathi Street on the land belonging to the Kanniyakumari Bhagavathy Amman temple.
After the authorities from the Kanniyakumari Devaswom Temples (Suchindram) -- an administrative body under the HR&CE department -- sealed one shop on Wednesday, all the affected shop owners registered their opposition. The members of all shop owners' associations, in solidarity, shut shops around the temple area and those in Sannathi Street, car streets, Parkview Bazzar, Beach Road, and the Triveni Sangam area.
Early on Thursday, the devaswom authorities sealed the 11 remaining shops near the mandapam. All the shop owners' associations protested the move by staging a sit-in near the mandapam, and urged the officials to provide an alternative solution to the affected shop owners. Black flags were put up in front of shops in several areas of the town.
On Thursday alone, a total of 8,625 tourists used the ferry service to visit the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue and the glass bridge. M Nelson, a tourist from Kerala, told TNIE that he and his wife had a hard time purchasing food and beverages as most of the shops remained shut. P Santhosh Kumar and Swetha, a couple from Jharkhand, said they had struggled to get food for themselves and their one-year-old child.
An autorickshaw driver said several tourists, who visited the town on Thursday, immediately left after noticing the shops were shut. Only a few expensive restaurants were kept open, but not every tourist could afford to get food from such establishments. A tourist photographer said pictures could not be printed as photo studios remained shut.
Kanniyakumari Parkview Bazaar Shops Traders Association president S Gurusamy urged the authorities concerned to provide alternative arrangements for affected shop owners. One K Gajendra Kumar said the shop run by his family for several years is one among those sealed, upending their livelihood overnight. Sources said the temple administration body has not taken any initiative yet to provide alternative arrangements for the owners of the evicted shops.