Cheruvathur: Kasaragod District Collector Dr D Sajith Babu has initiated procedures to develop the 15-acre artificial island in the river near Madakkara fishing harbour into a tourism spot. This is based on a memorandum submitted by M Rajagopalan MLA.
The Collector directed the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) secretary Biju Raghavan to conduct a feasibility study in this regard. DTPC’s architects will soon visit the spot and prepare a plan, said the secretary.
With the launch of the Malanad-Malabar cruise tourism project, a large number of houseboats are expected to pass along the river here. The artificial island would serve as a convenient wayside halt for them for rest and recreation. In fact, around 20 houseboats based at Kottappuram are already sailing along this route.
The artificial island was built using sand dredged from the river to create a boat channel for the smooth passage of fishing boats and canoes to and from the Madakkara harbour. The island, which is 400 m long and 150 m wide, came up at a cost of Rs 3.69 crore. The work took place under the Harbour Engineering Department and the dredged sand was deposited using geotube technology.
