THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bringing cheers to adventure seekers, a slew of exciting water sports are coming up at Adimalathura Beach. Located close to the internationally acclaimed Kovalam beach, Adimalathura is one of the emerging beach destinations in the capital, drawing scores of tourists around the year.
The destination is now gearing up to attract visitors with the launch of the first-ever floating bridge in the district, to be operational by November first week.
Sources said the work on the bridge has begun at Adimalathura. “We will able to throw open the floating bridge for the public by November first week. The slight delay was a result of the adverse weather conditions. ,” said a senior official of the tourism department.
The department plans to transform Adimalathura into a hub of adventure water sports. “Goa is known for water sports activities, and that is one of the reasons why people are thronging the beaches there. Kerala is also blessed with a vast coastline, and we are trying to scale up adventure water sports activities wherever possible. Floating bridges have come up in many places, and more will be inaugurated in the coming weeks,” said the official.
The authorities are also planning to introduce other water sports, like speed boating and jet skiing at Adimalathura soon after the launch of the floating bridge. “All these will come up under phase 1, and more hard water sports like parasailing will be introduced soon after it. Adventure activities worth Rs 2 crore will be launched at Adimalathura,” the official said.
The tourism department with the support of the National Institute of Water Sports in Goa will train people to operate the water sports activities. “We have conducted around 10 courses for those interested to work at these water sports centres.
Around 300 people, most of whom are from the fishermen community, attended these courses. Candidates who can swim 100 metres in three minutes are eligible to attend these courses,” he said. Those selected for jobs at the water sports centres will be paid a minimum monthly salary of Rs 20,000.