Tsunami funds spent on a surf reef for tourists

Keralan villagers made homeless by the 2004 tsunami claim funds spent on tourist projects
Chris Haslam, Times Online 12 Oct 08;

Angry Keralan villagers made homeless by the 2004 tsunami have accused authorities in the southern Indian holiday hot spot of diverting desperately needed redevelopment aid to “beach beautification” projects aimed at increasing the region’s tourism potential.

Sun-seekers arriving in Kerala this winter will notice a marked improvement in facilities, with the previously undeveloped white-sand beaches now sprouting toilet blocks, walkways, souvenir kiosks, an amphitheatre and even ornamental flower displays.

More than £10m from the Indian government’s Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme has been allocated to areas that were not affected by the tsunami. Kerala Tourism has disguised the diversion of the funds as “coastal protection” in an attempt to quell local outrage, but the works consist almost entirely of extravagant construction projects designed to maximise the profit potential of the once sleepy resort of Kovalam.

One of these projects is the construction of an artificial surf reef that has been designed to increase the size of the waves hitting the coast. Local opposition groups claim that turning the bay into a playground for westerners will put 500 fishermen out of work and put fish breeding grounds at risk.

In the meantime, neighbouring communities remain vulnerable.

After suffering Kerala’s greatest loss of life in the disaster, villagers on the Allapad peninsula campaigned for a bridge to be built to provide an escape route in the event of future emergencies. As building work funded by development aid continues apace in the holiday resorts, work on the bridge has been suspended.

“To spend funds meant for the rehabilitation of tsunami-affected communities on tourism projects that will bring them no benefits and will undermine coastal-protection measures will make a mockery of the huge donor support provided by individuals and governments across the world, ” says Tricia Barnett, of the pressure group Tourism Concern.

Kerala Tourism argues that the developments will enrich local people through an increase in beach tourism, but tsunami survivors say they have not been consulted about the role tourism should play in the rebuilding of their livelihoods.