Measures will be taken to restore Fort Kochi’s damaged beachfront to its lost glory and to woo tourists once the second wave of the pandemic subsides, so that the heritage locale becomes the most-sought after destination in Kerala, Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohamed Riyas has said.
The destination deserves to be promoted, for which the extensive damage caused by sea incursion will be rectified. Tour guides and other stakeholders in the sector will be vaccinated against COVID-19, to boost their confidence and that of guests, he told mediapersons, after visiting the severely damaged walkway and other amenities along south beach in Fort Kochi on Monday.
“K.J. Maxi, Kochi MLA, submitted a memorandum citing the extensive damage in the area. I promised him that I would visit the place. A meeting of stakeholders will be convened shortly to assess the extent of damage,” Mr. Riyas said.
It had been reported that IIT Madras had submitted a list of recommendations a month ago to the Tourism Department to restore the beach and the walkway, including by building an innovative seawall.
Improve connectivity
The Minister said steps were under way to invigorate tourism destinations in the district, especially so since substantial number of tourists arrive at the international airport. Steps will also be taken to improve connectivity to different locales, to woo domestic tourists.
Tourism sources said Mr. Riyas also issued directions to address issues facing Kadambrayar like inadequate parking space. The walkway and lights on the riverfront had been damaged in the 2018 floods.
He further inspected the work on a floating Koothambalam that Ernakulam DTPC has envisaged near the international cruise terminal at Willingdon Island.
PWD 4U app
Answering a question on PWD 4U, an app launched a week ago by the PWD to seek information from the public on ill-maintained roads and safety hazards, Mr. Riyas said it was launched since an earlier app was not functioning as expected. “A trial run is on for three months. Information on 4,000 km of State Highways is available on the app. People can also submit complaints about the rest of the 38,000 km roads too. All complaints will be attended to. I directly attend to complaints from people once a week at a control room. Steps are on to keep track of the complaints daily. This would bridge the gap between people and the PWD,” he said.
