Illegal tourist boats putting Kerala's backwater tourism at risk

The back to back tourist boat mishaps in Kerala have raised serious concerns over the safety of the backwater tourism sector.

Illegal tourist boats are thriving in Kerala owing to the weak enforcement mechanism. Industry sources said that while the registered number of house boats in Kerala is around 850 and other types of tourist boats are 1,500, almost double the number of tourist boats are operating in the state.

While 22 persons were killed after a tourist boat operating by flouting safety parameters capsized at Malappuram district on May 7, three tourists had a narrow escape when a houseboat, which was operating without valid licence, capsized at Alappuzha on Monday. Kerala had also witnessed many major tourist boat tragedies over the years.

Also Read | House-boat capsizes in Alappuzha; narrow escape for three

After the Malappuram boat tragedy the state government announced that enforcement against illegal boats would be intensified. Even then another illegal boat met with the mishap hardly three weeks afterwards. An earlier order of the Kerala High Court to crackdown on illegal boats as well as series of recommendations by various judicial commissions that probed into the major boat mishaps are still remaining on papers.

While skeletal staff of the state ports department is often cited as a reason for the weak enforcement, political nexus of the illegal boat operators also came up for discussions quite often. Even with regard to the recent mishap at Malappuram, a local person alleged that though the unsafe boat operations were brought to the notice of two ministers personally, they ignored.

The mishaps caused by the illegal boats are even taking a toll on the genuine boat operators.

"After the Malappuram boat tragedy there was considerable fall in tourists at Alappuzha, which is the hub of backwater tourism and houseboats in Kerala," said All Kerala House Boat Owners Association secretary Vijayan K.

The association also blames it on the government' apathy. The association had moved court against the illegal tourist boat services and the Kerala High Court directed the government to take strict action. However, no effective enforcement measures were taken by the government, he added.

The association president Vinod V said that the tourists should also ensure that they hire only boats having genuine licence and trained staff. "Charges for boats that meet all safety standards would be obviously higher than those operating illegally. Tourists often prefer the cheaper ones and thereby compromising safety parameters," he said.

Meanwhile, justice V K Mohanan commission appointed by the Kerala government to probe the Malappuram boat mishap visited the Alappuzha boat mishap on Tuesday. The commission is also likely to give comprehensive recommendations to ensure safety of the backwater tourism sector.