THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The famed Shangumughom beach is not just a must-see leisure spot but also part of the capital city’s historic legacy.
In a bid to augment its facilities to international standards, the Minister for Cooperation, Tourism and Devaswom Kadakampally Surendran today unveiled an Rs 14.67 crore upgradation master plan. At a function held at the beach, the Minister laid out the components of the master plan including beach front development – entry improvement and urban plaza; parking traffic; recreational hub and cultural hub.
Surendran also inaugurated the restored pond known as ‘Shangu kulam’ and 17 heritage shops. The total cost of the restoration is Rs 1.2 crores. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, “Shangumughom beach has found a place on the global tourist map. For city dwellers, this beautiful place is a home away from home. The development plans initiated today is to set right the concern of lack of basic facilities on the beach.”
“I can also say with confidence that never before in our memory has Kerala Tourism benefited from such development programmes. An amount of Rs 125 crores has been allocated for the development of the capital district,” the Minister added.
Solomon Vettukad, Councillor, Shangumughom ward presided over the function. Any development programme has to bring out the essence and highlights of a locality, he noted. Director of Tourism P Bala Kiran in his welcome address said that the Shangumughom Master Plan is a result of a year-long activity of research and discussions.
R Aswini Kumar, P Padmakumar, S Anil Kumar, K Rajasekharan and cS Mayadevi, Joint Director, Tourism spoke.