Thiruvananthapuram: Poor waste management, lack of toilets and shoddy parking mar tourist experience at major destinations like Kovalam, Kollam and Munnar. Tourism minister P C Vishnunadh said that visits showed poor upkeep and shabby waste management.The grand Rs 100cr Kovalam redevelopment project is yet to take off and the destination appears shabby while many spots in Munnar are congested, littered and crowded with shops that often inconvenience tourists. Plastic is dumped into the water bodies of Munnar.In Kollam, the lake where boats ply is polluted. Similar is the situation in Alappuzha, a hub of houseboat tourism. Houseboat operators have long demanded that the state govt clean up the lakes and waterways and set up a sewage treatment plant. But the plan is yet to take off, and the tourism department has no control over the proposal because it does not manage the water bodies.However, it is not easy to rectify these defects because multiple departments are involved and none of them have tourism as a priority area. The waste management is under the local body, river and lake upkeep comes under department of irrigation or water resources.In Kollam, waste scooped out of water is being dumped on the banks of the lake near the houseboat terminal where tourists assemble for their trips. The scooped out waste is also not removed immediately. They lie there for a few days, spreading foul smell.Vishnunadh said at a meet with tourism associations that there appears to be no system in place for waste management even in major destinations. “I have told them if they have decided to scoop out the waste from the lake, it should be removed from the banks immediately,” he said.Tourism promotion is also at stake. He said the district tourism promotion council’s building only has an ATM and a textile shop, with no tourism activity going on there at Kollam.
