Brisk work using bulldozers have been progressing since Tuesday close to the archaeology department-controlled stone madapams at Shangumugham.
Thiruvananthapuram: Death wells and joyrides were being put up at Shangumugham to attract thousands of people to the area and push Onam celebrations towards the beach. Brisk work using bulldozers have been progressing since Tuesday close to the archaeology department-controlled stone madapams at Shangumugham. However, even after spending crores of rupees periodically on beautification, poor waste management facilities continues to be a blot.
“The Chakratheertha pond near mandapams here is a water body where used plates from many eateries end up. There are around 50 mobile eateries and ice cream stalls here. Though each one of them flaunts a waste bin, the waste collected by them subsequently ends up on the beach and stays there,” said Clement Jacob, local resident. As per corporation sanitary workers, close to 50kg can be collected from Shangumugham every alternate days. This has only been increasing.
Recently, the DTPC conducted around Rs5 crore development works here to attract more people towards the beach. Meanwhile, tourism officials who maintained a defensive stand blamed it on local conditions and anti-social elements. “The corporation should come up with a plan to control local food stalls that result in plastic wrappers that litter the beach. The waste generated from here was miniscule when the coffee house and the old star fish restaurant used to monopolise the food business here,” said senior tourism officials.
