Varkala beach waits for tourism to get better

Monday, March 15, 2021

It is a belief that a dip taken in the pure waters of the Varkala beach, located about 10 kms from Varkala town, can purge the body of impurities. No wonder it is also known as Papanasam beach. The beach also carries special significance for the Hindus with offerings made here for the departed souls.

Normally, tourism season in Varkala stretches from November to May, but as of now, this picturesque location is almost empty with only a handful of visitors and most of the shops and resorts remaining closed. In spite of the pandemic threat, the beach, being one of the best tourist spots in Thiruvananthapuram, was reopened for the public on November 1 last year.

With no foreign tourists arriving in India now, only domestic tourists can be found in the beach. Tourism season has been severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdowns. Only a few cafes and small shops, most of them owned by people from Kashmir and Rajasthan, selling handicrafts, apparels and souvenirs on the way to the beach are open.

Though Varkala is thought to be a Left bastion, with a majority of local bodies under its rule for long, Congress had been winning the assembly seat till 2016. LDF, which bagged the seat last time, is convinced about retaining it. The government has done everything it can amid the challenges of the flood, Nipah outbreak and current COVID-19 virus threat.

Local vendors are among the worst affected from the lockdown. Many of them have resorted to alternative occupations.

Locals opine that the crisis faced by people in the tourism and allied sectors will be combated only if foreigners start visiting the place, since they tend to spend more money.

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