Alappuzha: A floating shopping mall on Kerala's beautiful backwaters is catching the attention of tourists.
The mall on a boat floats in the calm waters 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 operates the mall, told IANS.
Kerala's tourism department is very happy with the Consumerfed initiative, which has captured the attention of tourists visiting Kerala, an area that ranks above the Taj Mahal in National Geographic Traveller's list of the world's best destinations.
"Ever since the launch of the floating mall in June last year, it has become a tourist attraction," said M. Shivshankar, director, Kerala Tourism.
The boat, lined with shelves full of everything from grain to perfumes, health drinks and 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 unless they travel by boat. 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 8am to 6pm. For safety reasons, only 20 people are allowed on board at a time.
"Ours is a supermarket," says Reji R. Nair, managing director of Consumerfed, which was chosen the best cooperative in the state last year. "For the villagers, there is a lot of excitement to step onto the boat, which has everything for their needs under one roof."
Provisions like rice, wheat and sugar are priced at least 10-15 per cent below market rates.
"The villagers can buy even refrigerators and TV sets from the floating mall," said A.K. Anoop, the mall's manager.
