In 2016, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) had made 600 promises in its election manifesto and the first Pinarayi Vijayan government had succeeded in fulfilling a majority of them, said Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas here on Tuesday. The second LDF government was also trying to follow the same path and had achieved quite a lot in the last one year, he added.
Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the mega exhibition organised as part of the first anniversary celebrations of the State government, Mr. Riyas said the government had taken into consideration the aspirations of the new generation and had framed its developmental policies accordingly. The Minister spoke of the various steps taken by the government for sustainable development in the last one year.
Minister for Ports Ahammad Devarkovil presided over the event. MLAs Thottathil Raveendran, Kanathil Jameela and T.P. Ramakrishnan, District Collector N. Tej Lohit Reddy and District Police Chief A. Akbar were present.
Earlier, during a seminar on ‘Infrastructure development and tourism possibilities’, former MLA A. Pradeep Kumar criticised the “senseless developmental activities” carried out by various departments that marred the natural beauty of Kerala. He said all departments should seek the help of efficient architects to design buildings that sync well with the surroundings.
Criticising the construction spree in several tourism destinations, he said the State should have a hold on construction activities in such places, even if the land belonged to private individuals. “Nature has given us everything that we need to attract tourists. All we need is the infrastructure to reach the nature-blessed destinations,” he said, opening the seminar. He said all restaurateurs should be trained on how to serve food in a clean environment and the hygiene protocol being implemented by the Kozhikode Corporation needed to be spread across the State.
The mega exhibition organised at the beach featuring stalls under most government departments experienced overwhelming response from the public that thronged the venue on all eight days of the event. The cultural programmes also received good response from the public. The event concluded with a performance by Masala Coffee band.
