It is good that the government has started thinking in terms of opening work and business opportunities on our coast line. We have practically no waterborne activities on our coasts. I used to go and walk /jog at the Keppel bay in Singapore where you can see a large flotilla where the owners will moor their big and small boats and take them out for recreational sailing on holidays. We need to encourage sailing for skill enhancement, sport and physical exercise. We need to have at least ten more swimming pools where our boys and girls can practice swimming.
Creating and running floating hotels is good but you only eat and drink there and waste money and increase your tummy.
When you rig your boats, maintain them, take them out into the seas and return back , you develop skills, confidence and improve on body building. In Europe, South Africa etc; you can see several boats, many under sails, going out into the sea with families and friends on holidays, it is so beautiful, so satisfying and invigorating. In Mumbai also we must develop such sporting activity.
There is a workshop under Mbpt which is very under utilized and with PPP , we can revive it for repairs of ships anchored, berthed at Mbpt and JNPT. We have two moderate sized dry docks nearby which can be better energised. This will develop technical skills and capabilities. We should have more cruise ships operating between Mumbai and Goa, Goa-Cochin- Colombo etc; which will promote tourism and create jobs. After M.V. Chidambaram, we do not have a proper big passenger ship under Indian flag.
We take our ships to China for dry docking. We should have a few floating docks wherein we can repair /paint our ships and this will create jobs and opportunities.
On one hand we talk of floating hotels and on the other, talk of prohibition in Kerala. Why prohibit anything when you can moderate, control and educate? The people of Kerala are educated and they know their limits, you can have seminars to discuss the harms of over indulgence (over eating and wastage of food is bad, pay attention to this also) but jumping to prohibition displays a lack of capacity to think and adjust.