The Kozhikode district administration is planning to throw open all its tourism destinations by the first week of November, and in the first phase, Sarovaram Bio Park in the city will be opened to the public within a week.
District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) Secretary C.P. Beena said strict regulations would be put in place at the park to make it safe for the public in the backdrop of the pandemic. “Ticketing will be made online as far as possible. We will set up a QR code for payment at the counters at Sarovaram,” Ms. Beena said.
In keeping with the COVID-19 protocol, sanitisers and masks will be made mandatory. “The park will run in two shifts, one from 9 a.m. to noon and another from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The break in between will be used to sanitise the park,” she added.
Only 100 people will be allowed inside the park at a time, while a person cannot stay inside for more than one hour. Also, groups of more than five persons will not be entertained, as Section 144 is in place in the district.
The district administration had a plan to open the Sargaalaya Arts and Crafts Village along with Sarovaram, but it could not be done, as a COVID-19 treatment centre is functioning at Sargaalaya. “It will take time to make the place suitable to entertain tourists,” Ms. Beena said.
The DTPC Secretary also shared her apprehensions about opening public places like beaches to the public in the present situation. “It will be very difficult to control crowd in such public places,” she said and added that some strategy would be devised by the end of the month.