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Thirubanatpuram : A floating shopping mall on Kerala's beautiful backwaters is catching the attention of tourists. The mall on a boat floats in the backwaters of the low-lying Kuttanadu area of Alappuzha district.
"The floating Triveni Super Store, which sells everything a home needs including refrigerators and TV sets at subsidised rates, is the brainchild of state Cooperative Minister G. Sudhakaran," an employee of state government-run Consumerfed, which runs the mall, told the media.
Kerala's tourism department is very happy with the Consumerfed initiative as it catches the attention of tourists visiting the backwaters of Kerala, an area that ranks above the Taj Mahal in National Geographic Traveller's best destinations of the world.
"Ever since the launch of the floating mall in June last year, it has become a tourist attraction," says M. Shivshankar, Director, Kerala Tourism. The boat, lined with shelves full of grain to perfumes and health drinks to shampoos, caters to more than 100,000 people in 12 panchayats of Alappuzha. It docks at 53 villages along the backwaters.
These villages cannot access the mainland except through boats. A Triveni store official said the timings of the boat's arrival in each village is announced beforehand, and villagers look forward to it. The mall is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For safety reasons, only 20 people are allowed on board at a time.
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Posted On : 22 Feb 10
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