The Alappuzha municipality is set to begin work on the proposed food-art street (eat street) near the Alappuzha lighthouse.
Recently H. Salam, MLA; Alappuzha municipal chairperson K.K. Jayamma; and other officials visited the project site and held a review meeting. Alappuzha municipal vice-chairman P.S.M. Hussain said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) would be signed with the Public Works department (PWD road wing) soon. “The meeting has decided to launch preliminary works. Once the MoU is signed, major works will be commenced. Our plan is to open the food-art street by December this year,” Mr. Hussain said.
The civic body, as part of making nightlife livelier in Alappuzha, will set up the food-art street by converting a stretch of the Elephant Gate road. The stretch from the lighthouse to the FCI godown will be beautified while preserving heritage.
Variety of cuisine
The project is expected to give a major fillip to tourism in the district, known as the ‘Venice of the East.’ The street, which is situated less than 200 metres from the Alappuzha beach, will have huts, movable food trucks, ice cream-juice spots, a play area for children, an amphitheatre, art photography, a projector screen to show live sports, an exhibition area, double-decker food truck, parking area and so on. The place will be decked up with colourful lights and coloured floors. The food-art street, which is expected to serve a wide variety of cuisine, from local to Chinese, will function from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. by blocking vehicular traffic on the stretch.
₹45 lakh set aside
The municipality has earmarked ₹45 lakh for the project. It was designed by the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra. Though the project was originally meant to be implemented in the last fiscal, it got delayed due to various reasons.
While giving approval to the project earlier this year, the State government entrusted the municipality with the maintenance of the road stretch. The civic body has been allowed to carry out various works. While the municipality can collect a fee from food trucks, it should give 30% to the PWD that owns the road.
