Close on the heels of a group of foreign tourists having to clean the garbage-ridden Fort Kochi beach prior to taking a swim on Sunday, Kerala Tourism has sought a report from its officials on the condition of the historic beach on whose sands foreign traders and colonial powers once landed.
The tourism body was prompted to take action after a video and pictures of a group of Russian women tidying the beach and depositing the stinking garbage and litter that they collected in a few dozen trash bags went viral, it is learnt. This was followed by demands to augment beach-cleaning measures, with hospitality and other tourism stakeholders saying that the daily tidying of the beach by 20-odd sweepers and garbage collectors deployed by civic and tourism agencies was insufficient.
Among those who witnessed the Russians clean up the beach was C. Satish, president, All Kerala Tour Guides’ Association, while leading a group of NRI tourists. “It is a matter of shame that foreign tourists had to take up cleaning of Kerala’s prime beachfront. With tourism and other agencies doing little to take sustainable measures to ensure cleanliness of the beach, people are nowadays even suggesting a ‘litter-walking tour’ of the locale as a new tourism initiative to clear the mess,” he said.
Among those who faced flak for lack of cleanliness of the beachfront was the councillor representing Division 1 of the Kochi Corporation, Antony Kureethara, who is also the Opposition leader in the council. He said the civic agency and the Cochin Heritage Zone Conservation Society had limitations in ensuring a clean beach all by their own. “Kerala Tourism ought to take proactive measures to change the state of affairs. Over two years ago, Minister for Tourism Mohamed Riyas had assured that the agency would take swift measures to ensure a clean beach and prevent sea erosion. Nothing has been done in this regard so far. In this situation, the Centre for Heritage and Development [C-HED] under the Kochi Corporation [that is vested with upkeep of parks and public spaces] must be tasked with readying a permanent mechanism to clean the beach and ready a garbage master plan. In addition, an excavator must be deployed permanently on the beach to ensure its cleanliness,” he added.
Attributing the accumulation of garbage on the beach to the location of the beach at a ‘tri-junction’, Mayor M. Anilkumar said the Corporation had sought funds from Cochin Smart Mission Limited to erect a boom-barrier-like net on the beachfront to prevent such materials and water hyacinth being washed ashore. Such materials that accumulate on the barrier can subsequently be cleaned mechanically. “We had deployed a mini-excavator on the beach for a year to frequently clean garbage. But it proved to be very costly and had to be given up,” he said.
Sources said garbage and water hyacinth debris flowed into the beach from as far away as the Alappuzha backwaters. The garbage comprises mostly plastic, water hyacinth, thermocol, and glass bottles. They accumulate here during low tide. What is needed is a sustainable solution to the menace. This can be done either through preventive measures or by taking steps to scientifically treat the accumulated garbage, they said.
