Tourism waiting to take wings
Alappuzha's tourism industry is impatiently tugging at the leash that prevents it from breaking free and taking flight. The town ,with the beautif ul backwaters of Kuttanad close by , is endowed with all the riches that can make it a major tourism destination in Kerala . And ,of late, there has also been enough indications that local entrepreneurs are willing to invest money in the industry. All they want is for the Government to tackle certain basic issues which have earned Alappuzha a bad name in the tourist guides.
For the tourists visiting Kerala , Alappuzha is but a transit point . Upon arrival here, a majority of them just boards the boat for a cruise along the backwaters to either Kottayam or Kollam at Alappuzha and climb into the next bus service to Kochi or Kovalam. They avoid the stay in Alappuzha as far as possible.
Thus Alappuzha is just a place they pass through for sight-seeing during their Kerala tour .Local tour operators are unanimous in their opinion that the basic problem confronting the trade is the absence of a clean environment in the town. The criss – cross canals of the town. Which had once earned for Alappuzha the sobriquet 'Venice of the East' . Is its biggest handicap now. The canals , which had fallen into disuse , is no better than open drains these days and the stink they raise is enough to put off any visitor.
Almost all the tourism guides the visitors carry with them have this advice printed in bold letters; Alappuzha : Gateway to the beautiful backwaters of Kuttanad , but a town notorious for its stinking , weed – clogged canals that breed mosquitoes. Do not drink the water they provide at the hotels”. Exorcise Alappuzha of this evil and we are sure that the tourism trade would boom here over-night “ this is the considered opinion of all the local tour operators.
The cleaning of the canal network ( and its beautification ) is a big project involving big investments. For over a decade, this has been a pet topic for politicians here, and if speeches could have achieved the task, the project would have become a reality a thousand times over. |
