Lack of maintenance: Panambur beach turning into a dump yard

Mangaluru: Panambur has grown into a much-loved tourist destination. Tourists, as well as locals, flock to this beach on the Arabian Sea to relax and unwind from the hectic life. However, this beach is fast turning into a dump yard due to the acute lack of maintenance. Heaps of plastic strewn around the parking lot, plastic bags flying around in the sea breeze and the heap of waste collected are spoiling the natural and pristine beauty of this iconic beach of Mangaluru.

Though a few years ago the beach was upgraded with good facilities for tourists, the lack of maintenance ever since has rendered these facilities unusable. The signs, that once warned tourists about the rough seas, are now languishing hidden behind shops. The tiled roof of the Guthu house is now bereft of roof tiles and the place now looks like a haunted house with pale walls. It has been months since the CCTV cameras, that were installed to stop drinking at the beaches, stopped working. the list is endless.

All this, because nobody is in charge of maintaining the beach. The only saving grace, perhaps, is the lifeguards, who volunteer tirelessly to save the thousands of beachgoers, despite not being employed to do so. This beach needs some serious maintenance.

The Deputy Director of the tourism department Manikya blamed the high number of tourists that flocked the seashore at Panambur for the waste pile-up and said “We are taking action to remove and dispose the waste from the beaches every day.  We are frequently cleaning up garbage accumulated on the seashore.”

When asked about the state of the Panambur beach, Mangaluru North MLA Dr. Bharat Shetty Y said, there were plans to redevelop the beach on the model of Gokarna beach by the tourism development. “I will make efforts in this regard,” he assured.