Kasaragod: The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has invited tenders to operate and maintain the centres under it for five years. The move is aimed at improving the facilities at the tourist spots to attract more visitors. DTPC will be allowing private parties to run the centres after carrying out developmental work costing around ₹6 crore in total. The tourism centres are, Ranipuram tourist complex, Kidoor biodiversity research centre, Rest house, Arikady tourism centre and Kanwatheertha beach tourism centre.

The plan estimate for development work at each of these tourism centres is, ₹96.67 lakh for beautification at Ranipuram, ₹96.53 lakh for renovation of Ranipuram, ₹2.75 crore for Kidoor biodiversity research centre and a walkway at Arikady and ₹1.15 crore for Kanwatheertha beach. Almost 60 percent of the work at Kanwatheertha beach is currently over and the project is expected to be completed by September this year. However, a sea surge affected the construction activities on the beach, causing a delay. Meanwhile, 90-percent of the work is over at the other tourist spots. The money for the work was sanctioned from projects under the state Tourism Department and the Kasaragod development package.

The Kanwatheertha beach tourism centre comprises a food court, washroom complex, a children’s play area and parking space. Facilities such as ecofriendly makeshift huts, kayaking and a floating bridge will also be arranged. However, the sea encroached almost 25 m of the beach here recently, uprooting several trees, including the casuarina and badam varieties. Officials said that severe damage was caused to the beach, necessitating additional maintenance work.

Meanwhile, the Kidoor biodiversity centre offers facilities such as dormitory, guest rooms, kitchen, research area for biodiversity and parking area. At Ranipuram, the attractions for tourists include a restaurant, kitchen, six guest rooms, two twin cottages, conference hall, travel desk, children’s play area, dormitory, amphitheatre, garden, washroom complex, pavilion, swimming pool and parking area.

According to officials, Kasaragod district has been witnessing a steady increase in the number of visitors from other states and abroad since last year. Development of the tourist centres to offer appropriate infrastructure and proper maintenance would provide employment to a large number of local people and also lead to a rise in revenue for various sectors, the officials added.

It is also suggested to create a tourism circuit connecting all leisure and pilgrim destinations in Kasaragod to usher in further development and attract still more visitors to the district.