THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The beaches of Varkala and Kovalam - two popular tourist destinations in the state capital where people gather for New Year celebrations - are in a dire straits. The lack of basic amenities, infrastructure, toilet facilities, and cleanliness is turning into a major turn-off for tourists. Several master plans have been drawn up in the past years for both these destinations but nothing happened on the ground.
The lack of a well-maintained and protected beach at Kovalam has led to a drastic decline in the number of foreign tourists visiting the destination. According to stakeholders, the number of foreign guests has drastically declined and beaches have become inaccessible for visiting tourists. Apart from tall claims, promises and project proposals, the Tourism Department has miserably failed to revive both these destinations.
“Now the hospitality industry is surviving on domestic tourists. Without reviving the beaches of Kovalam, we will not get international guests. It’s disheartening to see the present situation and sewage is overflowing through the gutters. We have been requesting the authorities to set up a sewage treatment plant to process the wastewater from the hotels and other establishments on the beaches. When we raise these issues, they say that a master plan is being drawn up. Several tourism seasons have gone by and the ground realities haven’t changed much. Beaches remain inaccessible for the guests,” said an office bearer ( who didn’t want to be named) of the Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA).
However, the Tourism officials maintained that all arrangements are in place for crowd management and ensuring the security of the people arriving at Kovalam to celebrate New Year. Adventure sports and a floating bridge were recently launched at the Varkala beach with much fanfare by the Tourism Minister. Ever since the introduction of adventure sports, the destination has been witnessing a heavy rush.
Sanjay Sahadevan, advisor to the Varkala Tourism Development Association, said that the crisis has worsened after the introduction of water sports. He said that last New Year’s Eve nearly 2 lakh people visited the destination. “The toilet facilities at the beach are yet to be functional. It’s been two years since the work was launched,” said Sanjay.