Udupi, Sep 28 (The Hindu): Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, said on Sunday that a proposal for developing a tourism corridor from Shirva to Malpe in Udupi district under the Public Private Participation (PPP) mode had been submitted to the State government.

He was speaking after inaugurating the World Tourism Day celebrations organised by the district administration and other organisations here.

Sorake said that the project envisaged widening the present Shirva-Malpe road. Shops selling handicrafts by rural artisans would be set up on the corridor to promote handicraft industries. An amount of Rs 10 crore was expected for the district under the Coastal Tourism Development Project. This would give fillip to the development of beaches in the district including Kaup, Malpe and Marvanthe, he added.

He said that importance was being given to constructing roads in coastal areas to ensure better connectivity. Another 13 proposals related to tourism had been submitted to the government. Besides beach tourism, there was ample scope for promoting water sports in the district. The district was home to several temples, including the famous Sri Krishna Temple and the Sri Mookambika Temple. It was possible to develop a pilgrim circuit and promote pilgrim tourism.

'Welcome tourists'

"A change in the mindset of the people too is required. People should welcome tourists. It is necessary to hold training camps to train guides and other personnel in handling tourists," Sorake said.

Presiding over the function, Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said that the potential for tourism had not been leveraged in the coastal districts of the State. The State was lagging far behind Goa and Kerala in the tourism sector.

One reason for lagging behind these two States was the strict implementation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. The State government had sent a proposal a year ago to the Union government to relax the CRZ norms as had been done in Kerala and Goa.

So far, there had been no response from the Centre. Another reason was the poor maintenance of restrooms and other facilities at tourist spots, he said. R Vishal, Deputy Commissioner, and Nagaraj, Assistant Director of Tourism, were present.