Tsunami affected communities in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are facing a
second wave of displacement due to aggressive land acquisitions for
tourism developments around the southern Indian coast.
The states have been earmarked by the Indian government as major emerging
tourism destinations and investment is being actively promoted. Substantial
funds are being channelled into tourism departments for coastal tourism
projects. Many of these developments are placing tsunami survivors
– often still desperately in need of re-housing and livelihood
support – under renewed threat of displacement.
In Sri Lanka, fishing communities that have lived by the sea for time
immemorial have now been permanently relocated to houses several kilometres
inland, ostensibly to protect them from another tsunami. They cannot
afford the daily return journey to the coast and have nowhere to store
their boats and nets. Many have had to abandon fishing, but have no
other way to earn a living, making them dependent on government handouts
and forcing them into poverty.
Meanwhile, tourism developments along the southern coast have flourished
and, while the continuing conflict in the east has quietened the government’s
earlier outspoken drive to develop tourism and promote investment,
signs that this is still on the cards are there. A new international
airport is planned, linked to the east and south coasts by a recently
upgraded road, works paid for by EU tsunami funds. Coastal beautification
projects - further indications that the government is preparing the
grounds for tourism - have also been facilitated by tsunami funds,
despite the fact that many survivors continue to languish in temporary
camps. In Batticaloa in the east, a picturesque promenade complete
with green benches and wooden gazebos now encircles the lighthouse.
Local fishermen are forced to store their nets in the corrosive sea
water and their boats amongst the few coconut palms on either side
of the development. A plaque proudly declares the development “a
gift from the American people”.
These findings come following Tourism Concern’s recent visit
to India and Sri Lanka, where we have partnered with grassroots civil
society organisations in order to raise awareness of the threats posed
by tourism developments to tsunami-affected communities. The programme,
which began six months ago, will build the capacity of coastal communities
to challenge such developments, which are threatening to consume their
land and undermine livelihoods.
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