08 July 2008

SECOND WAVE OF DISPLACEMENT HITS TSUNAMI SURVIVORS SAYS TOURISM CONCERN

Aggressive land acquisitions for tourism in India are threatening tsunami survivors with a second wave of displacement, reports Tourism Concern, the travel pressure group.

In their publication Ã¢â¬ÅâœTourism In FocusÃ¢â¬~, Tourism Concern writes:

Ã¢â¬ÅâœDevelopers backed by government policy are exploiting their vulnerable situation and lack of business experience by offering just a fraction of what their land is worth.

Entire communities have been talked into selling and relocating inland, cutting off their access to the sea which they depend upon for fishing. Tourism developers are also blocking access to the sea by Ã¢â¬ËœprivatisingÃ¢â¬â¢ communal beachfront land by building private roads, erecting fences, and posting security guards.

The pressure on people to sell is immense. In Kerala, 38 brokers spent over three hours persuading one fisherman to sell. The money received from these sales soon runs out, but there a few alternative means to earn a living.

In Tamil Nadu, fishing communities that lost houses in the tsunami urgently need space to expand and rebuild, but are hemmed in on all sides by land bought up for tourism and industry. Land prices have skyrocketed to well beyond their means, forcing families to live in cramped conditions with little privacy and poor sanitation.

Sumesh Mangalassey of Tourism ConcernÃ¢â¬â¢s Tsunami and Displacement Project estimates that 5,000 tsunami survivors are still in need of housing in Tamil Nadu. Most new houses have been built inland, despite the fact that this cuts fishing communities off from their only source of income and way of life. Where coastal villages were completely destroyed by the tsunami, people have had no choice but to relocate, leaving their land free for tourism development.

Hotel groups are promising jobs, but local people realise that their lack of experience in the tourism sector would only entitle them to the most poorly paid, menial roles. They are also concerned about the environmental impacts that the planned developments would have on already dwindling fish stocks.

The states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been earmarked as emerging tourism destinations. Investment is being actively promoted by the Indian government and regulations around tourism developments are set to be relaxed. Substantial private and government funds are being channelled into coastal tourism projects, driving up demand for land amongst developers. Both states are being aggressively marketed overseas, including in the UK.

Tricia Barnett of Tourism Concern said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœThis is another example of tourism policy and big business riding roughshod over the needs of vulnerable people. That they are still struggling to recover from the tsunami makes it even more reprehensible. This might make holidaymakers think twice about visiting Kerala and Tamil Nadu, especially if they are one of the millions who gave in the aftermath of the tsunami to help these same communities that are being threatened again with displacement Ã¢â¬' not from another tsunami, but from tourismÃ¢â¬~.

Valere Tjolle