Sea incursion, water hyacinth and accumulation of waste have together eaten away much of the Fort Kochi beach.
| Photo Credit: JOHN L. PAUL.
Despite Kochi recently making it to the list of the world’s top 10 trending destinations, tourism infrastructure remains in shambles at Fort Kochi — historically one of India’s most popular tourism locales.
Multiple schemes announced by the State government in recent years to restore the Fort Kochi beach, which once saw the footprints of traders from across the world and three colonial powers, remain non-starters. The same is true of basic infrastructure such as pay-and-use toilets at the heritage locale, a hub for both foreign and domestic tourists. All this comes despite Kochi being the only tourism destination from India to feature in the list of the top 10 global trending destinations prepared by Booking.com, a leading travel platform.
Expressing concern over the stalemate on study reports, including one by IIT-Madras, to arrest sea erosion that has claimed much of the beach and to restore the beachfront, sources in Kerala Tourism said the agency is yet to be allotted funds for the project. “Funds are also awaited to restore damaged sections of the walkway and to replace damaged benches and other infrastructure. Likewise, the long-overdue renovation of the Chinese fishing nets that adorn the beachfront is also caught in red tape. These point to the neglect of the iconic locale.”
They added that tourists would have avoided Fort Kochi if not for Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) and Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) contributing to the redevelopment of a few areas in the heritage locale.
Echoing a similar view, Dax Gueizelar, an experiential tourism provider based in the region, described how he thinks twice before taking guests to the beach and to the walkway, which is a treasure trove of historical stories. “This is because much of the beach has been taken over by water hyacinth washed in from afar due to delays in implementing beach-protection measures. To make matters worse, infrastructure such as street lights is often found damaged.”
In addition, abandoned kiosks have become eyesores. Given the situation, he added that the government must allot adequate funds to protect the beach and to repair or install basic infrastructure.
Published – November 16, 2025 08:54 pm IST
