Karnataka's Malpe becomes first beach in India with Wi-Fi facility

Mangaluru: Malpe beach in Udupi district, one of the main tourist attractions in southern Karnataka, has become the first beach in India to have Wi-Fi connectivity.

The facility will be available to tourists free of cost for 30 minutes at any time of the day during their visit, an official release said.

Udupi MLA Pramod Madhwaraj launched the 24x7 facility at a function at the beach yesterday.

He said the duration of free Wi-Fi access would be extended later.The free Wi-Fi service is being provided by BSNL, supported by the Centre's Digital Drive Initiative.

Madhwaraj said the Malpe beach committee had spent Rs 80 lakh for beach development works last year.

Work on road development had also been taken up at a cost of Rs five crore over the years, he said.