By M. Smithy
Blessed with vast stretches of serene backwaters, ideal setting for country boat cruises, indigenous fishing, crab farming and prawn culture are enough for an Indian village to attract tourists. These advantages of Kumbalangi led the Kerala Tourism Department to select it as the model tourism village of the State. Now Kumbalangi is prepared to earn the benefits from its natural beauty and the specialties of unique village life. A warm and friendly village folk - farmers, fishermen and boatmen-await the tourists. They take travellers to the sea and paddy fields. In the evenings, the travellers experience an exceptional ly soothing atmosphere by walking along the mangroves in the tranquility of the cool wind. The Ministry of Tourism has helped the State Tourism Department with a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to initiate the development of the model tourism villages of Kerala. The major objective of this project is to involve the rural people in developing tourism so that they may reap the socio-economic benefits through an increase in the income and with more job opportunities for them. Projecting a model village for tourism is a new concept altogether. The State Tourism Department has decided to project two villages - Kumbalangi and Kumbala-as the model villages for tourism in Kerala. The proximity to Cochin, the tourism capital of Kerala, also helped the beautiful island of Kumbalangi in getting the status of a model tourism village. The large cluster of Chinese nets, fish farms, house-hold industries like copra and coir-making and typical local cuisines largely attract the tourists. Besides, religious and cultural ceremonies are part of this island village of 35,000 population. It is an ideal destination for tourists who want to discover something new and exciting - a lovely backwater village having lush green paddy fields intimately interlocked with vast stretches of water. Kumbalangi offers the tourists vibrant festivals and exotic local cuisines. The boatman’s song adds colour to it. It also gives one an opportunity to understand the villagers and their life style better. The tourist feels relaxed. At the same time, steps are being taken to preserve the environment and eco-system of Kumbalangi. Besides, the decision not to build any new structures also attracts interest of the environment-concerned travellers. Only the available current facilities will be improved further for the development of tourism. The project proposes to initiate work for better sanitary conditions, solid waste disposal, development of walkways and boat jetties, improving upon the bridge connecting the island to the mainland, water harvesting and boat cruising. The cage culture type of fish farming at Kumbalangi is apt to be an added attraction to the foreigners as well as the domestic tourists. Fish is cultivated in cages in the natural way. This method is usually practised in the Scandinavian countries. Traditional crab farming and “I catch, you fry” style of backwater cruise are also available for the tourists. They get a chance to accompany the local fisherman in their daily outings to the backwaters. The network of water bodies caresses the village before merging into the Arabian Sea. Not surprisingly, exotic varieties of the backwater catch spice up every meal. The village is also home to lush green paddy fields where the famous ‘pokkali’ organic rice is cultivated. Many package tours and other programmes are being prepared in connection with the model tourism village project. These mainly concentrate in back water cruising, both in daytime and night, besides boating in the countryside and along the mangrove. Presentation of the traditional cultural programmes is also part of the packages. The night cruising is accompanied by the boatman’s song. Plans to arrange special huts near the Chinese nets are also on the anvil. Besides the Tourism Ministry’s financial support to promote rural tourism destinations, the State government has invested Rs. 75 lakh to develop the roads of Kumbalangi. The village panchayat is also actively cooperating . The tourist season at Cochin starts in November. The city has been witnessing an increase in the number of tourists with each passing year. The hotels in Cochin and its surrounding areas remain full with domestic and international tourists during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. The forecast by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has already projected a very rosy future for the tourism industry in Kerala.
(Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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