THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A recent incident of harassment involving a 28-year-old woman tourist at Varkala has triggered serious concerns over the safety of women travellers in Kerala’s leading tourist destinations. The case, registered with the police earlier this week, comes as a setback to the state government’s ongoing efforts to brand Kerala as a fully women-friendly tourism destination.
The incident occurred on September 15 (Monday) around 5 pm, when the complainant was walking from a cliffside restaurant towards the helipad area to meet a friend. The accused, approaching from the opposite direction, allegedly brushed against her hand in a sexually suggestive manner and made an indecent remark.
“He grabbed her hands and made these dirty remarks. The complainant is a native of Varkala and has been settled in the UK for the past four years and came down for vacation. Those visiting the destination feel unsafe because of these miscreants,” said a close relative of the complainant.
This is not the first time such incidents are happening. A few months earlier, a 38-year-old woman had a distressing experience near the helipad — barely 100 metres away from a police aid post.
She reported that men made lewd comments and “eve-teased” her, forcing her to flee the area. “We never feel safe in that destination as people look at all women with bad eyes. Eve-teasing and loose comments have become normal here, and women visiting alone feel especially insecure,” she said.
Inadequate women police patrolling, lack of CCTVs, lack of rapid-response systems, lack of street lights are making the destination unsafe for women tourists. Though the police claim that complaints are less, according to tourist stakeholders the victims are reluctant to raise complaints even if something happens.
In recent years, Kerala Tourism has been aggressively promoting the concept of ‘Women-Friendly Tourism’, offering women-only tour packages, safe accommodation tie-ups, and promoting women entrepreneurs in tourism. However, incidents like those at Varkala raise doubts about whether the ground reality matches the intention of Kerala’s women-friendly tourism campaign.
According to district police chief (Thiruvananthapuram rural) Sudarshan K S there is adequate safety patrolling at the destination.
“In the past eight months, the number of cases reported at Varkala is negligible and there is police patrolling and tourist police to ensure the safety of the tourists. During peak season and days when crowding is more we deploy more police personnel. In the context of this incident we will step up surveillance at the destination,” said Sudarshan K S.
Sanjay Sahadevan, advisor to the Varkala Tourism Development Association (VTDA), alleged that the destination is turning into a hub of illegal activities. “Illegal liquor serving should be stopped at these restaurants and there should be more police presence to ensure the safety. We have taken up the matter with the district collector and a written complaint will be given to all authorities concerned,” said Sanjay.
Adding on to the woes, the police aid post located on the edge of the eroding cliff at the helipad will be demolished soon. “The situation will become worse without a police aid post,” Sanjay added.