A sleepy village popular for cool season vegetable and fruit framing at Kanthallur under Devikulam taluk in Idukki has bagged the gold award by the Government of India in the Best Rural Tourism Projects category.
According to officials, Kanthallur was selected for the award after an eight-month-long extensive evaluation of rural village projects in the length and breadth of the country.
In all, 767 projects from around the country vied for honours, and five of them won gold, ten were selected for silver, and 20 for bronze.
According to officials, the “Sustainable, Tangible, Responsible, Experiential, Ethnic, Tourism (STREET) tourism project of the State Responsible Tourism Mission was successfully implemented in Kanthallur and helped in getting the award.
Kanthallur Panchayat president P. T. Mohandas said that the panchayat initiatives helped in getting the award.
“ The panchayat ensured proper maintenance of street lights, installation of public water vending machines, destination sign boards, fixing of stickers in taxi vehicles, collection of waste from houses and green check-posts in various points,” said Mr. Mohandas.
“ Two Geographical Indication (GI) status declared agricultural products, Marayur Jaggery and Kanthallur-Vattavada garlic, are proud contributions of the village. Our next initiative is to compete for the World Tourism award,” said Mr Mohandas.
Tourism Minister P A. Mohamed Riyas said, “This honour is a huge endorsement for Kerala’s sustainable and responsible tourism initiatives led by the Responsible Tourism Mission.”
The farmers receive an income connected to farm tourism, which is the major attraction in Kanthallur. Tourists arrive at the farms throughout the year to see the fruits, including sweet lemons, strawberries, tree tomatoes, apples, oranges, plums, peaches, guava, mosambi, passion fruit, and tamarillo. Strawberry is the latest addition. The fruit is grown in Kulachivayal, Keezhanthur, Perumala and Puthur areas of the Kanthallur grama panchayat.
K. A. Abraham, a fruit farmer from Perumala near Kanthallur, said that the tourists visit the farm and purchase fruits from the plantation. “There is no need to search another market to sell the fruits. The tourists can directly see the quality of the product. The farm tourism provides a better income,” said Mr. Abraham.
According to officials, Kerala Tourism Director P. B. Nooh received the award from the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, India, V.Vidyavathi, at a ceremony held on Wednesday at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on World Tourism Day.
Mr. Mohandas was also present to receive the award.
