KOCHI: The Fort Kochi coastline is emblematic of the state’s tourism industry. Yet, for all this grandiose, the beach here is a complete eye-sore – thanks to the heaps of garbage that now dot it.
Save for the occasional clean-up drives organised by NGOs and institutions, there has not been a system in place to ensure that the place is as welcoming as tourism brochures claim it to be.
“It is a matter of great shame for us to see tourists taking the initiative to clean up our beach,” says Sheik Ismail, president of the Tourism Care Foundation. Recently, a 65-year-old German tourist was seen actively picking up trash from the beach since the very day he arrived in Fort Kochi.
The accumulation of waste on Fort Kochi beach is not a new problem. Several news reports and petitions have highlighted the issue before the Kochi Corporation. However, officials are yet to come up with a foolproof solution.
A lot of factors are in play at Fort Kochi beach. “It seems the corporation officials have had their hands tied due to political interference. Street vendors here likely enjoy the patronage of political parties. Who would dare touch them?” a source elaborated.
“The need of the hour is to sensitise the vendors who’ve set up stalls on the beachfront,” Ismail says. According to him, “All the authorities need to do is issue a notice to the vendors if are found to violate waste management rules. If they continue with these
violations, their licence can be revoked and a fine imposed. This will ensure that littering is minimal.” The pile-up of garbage has drastically impaired Fort Kochi’s tourism prospects. Tourists, who once used to stay three to four nights here, now curtail their visit to just one day.
“Who wants to see a beach that has been taken over by garbage,” says Jose Dominic, a tourism expert and former chairman of CGH Earth.
Now, with the corporation failing to hold up their end of the stick, stakeholder bodies in the tourism industry have jointly organised a beach clean-up drive to give Fort Kochi a much-needed facelift. “It is not just the tourism industry who benefits from seeing more tourists here, but also local businesses,” Jose says.
Corp’s hands tied
Several news reports and petitions have highlighted the issue before the Kochi Corporation. Sources say the hands of corporation officials are tied due to political interference, preventing them from issuing notices to violators