In the last one week, more than two dozen illegal tourist resorts in the picturesque hill station of Munnar have been razed and 200 more are to be demolished for encroaching on government land, but tourism industry watchers say the move could harm Kerala's booming tourism industry.
The demolition drive, by the no-nonsense Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, was launched to evict all those who had encroached on government land.
"The drive would be extended to other parts of the state like Kovalam and Kumarakom. We will under no circumstances be lenient on these encroachers," Achuthanandan declared.
But tourism watchers say the drive has come at a time when the state is anyway short of 10,000 rooms during the peak tourist season - October to March - and would result in millions of rupees in tourism investment going down the drain.
However, state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Monday said that the demolition drive would not affect the state's tourism industry.
K. Sudish Kumar, who owns a premier resort in Kovalam beach, said the chief minister was "playing to the gallery" in his haste to get on with the demolitions, ignoring the growth of the money-spinning tourism industry.
One year into power, the Marxist hardliner might want to keep his crusader image intact but not everyone is happy with his decision.
The demolition drive, by the no-nonsense Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, was launched to evict all those who had encroached on government land.
"The drive would be extended to other parts of the state like Kovalam and Kumarakom. We will under no circumstances be lenient on these encroachers," Achuthanandan declared.
But tourism watchers say the drive has come at a time when the state is anyway short of 10,000 rooms during the peak tourist season - October to March - and would result in millions of rupees in tourism investment going down the drain.
However, state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Monday said that the demolition drive would not affect the state's tourism industry.
K. Sudish Kumar, who owns a premier resort in Kovalam beach, said the chief minister was "playing to the gallery" in his haste to get on with the demolitions, ignoring the growth of the money-spinning tourism industry.
One year into power, the Marxist hardliner might want to keep his crusader image intact but not everyone is happy with his decision.
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