Thiruvananthapuram: Tourism and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran has said that the state government will not allow permanent constructions at Pamba in future in view of the devastation caused during the recent floods.
Mr Surendran told reporters at the Press Club here on Thursday that Nilakkal would be converted as the base camp for Sabarimala. The plan was to operate 300 buses in convey basis from Nilakkal to Pamba.
The hospital at Pamba, which was destroyed in the floods, will be reconstructed soon, said Mr Surendran. He defended the decision to hike the KSRTC fares between Nilakkal and Pamba saying the fares were not revised earlier.
Though the official data revealed that only Rs 150 crore-worth tourism infrastructure was lost in the floods, the impact was much higher. Over, 15,000 families who depended on the tourism industry were hit and their livelihood was lost, he said.
The floods hit the state during the peak of the tourism season. Moreover, the tourism department had begun to market Onam week celebrations as a national and international event before it was dropped. They were expecting 2000 foreign tourist to witness Onam week and had been planning a pavilion for the foreign tourists, he said.
A survey to identify the impact of floods on the tourism industry had found that 90 percent of the infrastructure was intact. Of the 10 percent which was destroyed, eight percent could be restored within a short span of time. However, two percent infrastructure would take time to be restored.
The cooperative societies were in a position to start the construction of 1500 houses for those who lost them in the floods immediately after the revenue department provides the details, said Mr Surendran.
