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First surfing club in Udupi district was started by two alumni of Manipal Varsity

The cool evening breeze, the silver sand and the sun amidst the clouds all provided the right ambience for a demonstration of surfing at the Malpe beach here on Sunday.

About seven to eight surfers from Shaka Surf Club from Kodibengre near here and Stoked Surfers’ Club from Mangaluru, got into the sea with their surfboards and gave a demonstration.

This aroused curiosity among the people, who had come spend their evening on the beach.

Among the surfers were Charulata Somal, Assistant Commissioner of Kundapur Sub-Division, and also the well-known surfer Ishita Malaviya.

This was probably the first time that a demonstration of surfing was held at the Malpe beach by the district administration as part of the World Tourism Day celebrations.

“The intention of holding this demonstration is to promote water and adventure sports. This will naturally increase the footfalls to the pristine beaches in Udupi district,” said Ms. Somal.

“We should promote beach tourism in our district and State as it has been done in Kerala and Goa,” she added.

Tushar Pathiyan along with Ms. Malaviya started the first surfing club – The Shaka Surf Club - at Kodibengre village near Udupi in 2007. The club was registered in 2012.

Mr. Pathiyan completed his degree in architecture from Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT) here about four years ago. Ms. Malaviya is also an alumna of Manipal University. Both of them teach surfing.

The Shaka Surf Club also teaches surfing to local children and youth in Kodibengre village free of cost. “People know little about surfing. Many people do not know swimming. It is time people are exposed to the joy of water sports such as surfing,” Mr. Pathiyan said.

Recalling the days, when they had started the Club, Mr. Pathiyan said that there were only 10 surfers. “Now after nearly nine years, people come from Delhi, Mumbai and other places of the country as well as foreigners to learn surfing in Kodibengre,” he said.

Most of the surfing activities take place in Tamil Nadu. “But we want coastal Karnataka to be a major hub of surfing. We need to create beach culture and protect the beaches,” Mr. Pathiyan said.

Tourism corridor planned from Shirva to Malpe: Sorake

Shops selling handicrafts will be set up on the corridor

Vinay Kumar Sorake, Urban Development Minister, said on Sunday that a proposal for developing a tourism corridor from Shirva to Malpe in Udupi district under the Public Private Participation (PPP) mode had been submitted to the State government.

He was speaking after inaugurating the World Tourism Day celebrations organised by the district administration and other organisations here.

Mr. Sorake said that the project envisaged widening the present Shirva-Malpe road. Shops selling handicrafts by rural artisans would be set up on the corridor to promote handicraft industries. An amount of Rs. 10 crore was expected for the district under the Coastal Tourism Development Project. This would give fillip to the development of beaches in the district including Kaup, Malpe and Marvanthe, he added.

He said that importance was being given to constructing roads in coastal areas to ensure better connectivity. Another 13 proposals related to tourism had been submitted to the government. Besides beach tourism, there was ample scope for promoting water sports in the district. The district was home to several temples, including the famous Sri Krishna Temple and the Sri Mookambika Temple. It was possible to develop a pilgrim circuit and promote pilgrim tourism.

‘Welcome tourists’

“A change in the mindset of the people too is required. People should welcome tourists. It is necessary to hold training camps to train guides and other personnel in handling tourists,” Mr. Sorake said.

Presiding over the function, Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said that the potential for tourism had not been leveraged in the coastal districts of the State. The State was lagging far behind Goa and Kerala in the tourism sector.

One reason for lagging behind these two States was the strict implementation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. The State government had sent a proposal a year ago to the Union government to relax the CRZ norms as had been done in Kerala and Goa.

So far, there had been no response from the Centre. Another reason was the poor maintenance of restrooms and other facilities at tourist spots, he said. R. Vishal, Deputy Commissioner, and Nagaraj, Assistant Director of Tourism, were present.