KOCHI: The Fort Kochi Tourism Complex is all set to see the light of the day after years of abandonment. The complex houses a digital folklore theatre, dormitories and rooms. Once opened, the complex can provide a range of amenities for tourists and visitors to Fort Kochi.“Of the 22 rooms, 11 have been leased out. The others were also tendered but as norms were not followed, the corporation has issued notices against opening them. We hope to settle the disputes and open all the rooms by the end of January,” said K J Sohan, Town Planning Standing Committee chairman. The Folklore Cultural Theatre, maintained by the Fort Kochi Heritage Conservation Society, has been leased out. The fully air-conditioned, ultra-modern theatre will cater to the tourists’ growing demand for cultural performances. Owing to its poor functioning, private auditoriums charging exorbitant rates have cropped up in the area. The opening up of the folklore theatre is expected to be a relief to the artist community. “The working of the folklore theatre has been unorganised till now. We hope to have regular performances. Interested persons can book the theatre for cultural performances at a fixed rent. We have placed certain criteria regarding this before we leased out the property. The proper functioning of the theatre is expected to add to the revenue,” said District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth, who is also heading the Fort Kochi Heritage Conservation Society.The rooms in the tourism complex were originally designed to cater to the demands of the bus stand next to it. They were meant to house tourist information centres, tour operating agencies, banks, toilets and other amenities. “Three of the 20 rooms are given to KSRTC employees. We hope that there will be a KSRTC ticket booking counter at the tourism complex. Besides, there will be space for a bank, an ATM and other amenities, including toilets,” Sohan said.
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