Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Councils to develop tourist spots soon

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram: The government will soon set up Tourist Destination Development Councils, Minister for Tourism Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has said. Replying to questions in the Assembly on Tuesday, the Minister said the councils would have statutory powers and be headed by legislators. The councils would end imbalance and help develop tourist destinations. The District Tourism Promotion Councils had failed in ensuring uniform tourism development in the State.

The Minister said the government emphasis would be on foreign tourist arrivals as a foreign tourist spends, on an average, Rs.3200 compared to Rs.1500 by a domestic tourist in the State. The State had recorded a 20.37 per cent increase in foreign tourist arrivals and 5.92 per cent in domestic tourist arrivals this season.

Mr. Balakrishnan announced that a master plan will be prepared for developing Kollam into a major tourist destination. The souvenir industry would be developed to cater to the needs of tourists. Hydel tourism will be promoted with the support of the Kerala State Electricity Board.

More tourist police personnel will be deployed during the tourist season and the police helpline for tourists will be streamlined.

Cooperation and Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran said the government was aiming to set up 140 professional colleges in the cooperative sector with the help of cooperative societies and banks.The Minister said the government was of the view that fee structure for colleges in the cooperative sector should be rational.Minister for Forests and Housing Benoy Viswom said 74,261 houses were constructed under various schemes after this government came to power. The aim is to construct 5 lakh houses during 2007-2012.

Minister for Electricity A.K. Balan said there had been an 8 per cent increase in power consumption from that in the previous year. The peak load demand increase was 200 MW and it was likely to go up in the summer. Steps will be taken to popularise CFL lamps and scheme to provide CFL lamps for Rs.15 to domestic consumers in the state were on, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

National Science Day tomorrow
School students to donate money to RCC
Mahila Congress meet
Councils to develop tourist spots soon
Naxal intrusion to be curbed
Reservation hit
‘Not up to the expectations’
CAG finds irregularities in award of works
HMT deal rocks Assembly
KSEB employees’ confederation plea
Age relaxation sought
Stir deferred
Transparent spatial planning soon
Intervention helped State, says Chandy
Railway budget fails to address State’s needs
Railway zone only solution, says Rajagopal
Snake poison seized
Question paper mix-up: examination cancelled
Neo-liberal policies will distort education: Panikkar
Christ Nagar decennial inaugurated
Police to give priority to women’s problems
Corporation to launch a slew of housing projects
Notice to Trivandrum Club soon
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu