This summer you can literally cool off by surfing on the placid estuary on the ECR riding on the water scooters. The Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) hopes to lure the adventurers youth to its two boathouses near here by additionally deploying the water scooters.

Though the TTDC could not induct these Yamaha make ‘wave runners’ as scheduled, it hopes to add four more to its fleet of water scooters by this month end.

“Steps have been initiated to procure the water scooters for the Muttukadu and Mudal­iyarkuppam boathouses, as an added attraction,” a senior Tamil Nadu Tourism Dev­elopment Corpora­tion official said.

Located about 36 km from here, the Muttukkadu boathouse, offers rowing and speedboat riding. It presently has 15 row boats, 27 speedboats and 9 pedal boats besides two high-speed aqua scooters. Mudaliarkuppam boat house, which is another water sport facility on the East Coast Road, has water scooting and kayaking facilities, in addition.

Meanwhile, the e-initiatives of the TTDC, which is operating a chain of 55 hotels with a fleet of 23 coaches, has yielded “satisfactory” results.

It is the first state-run corporation to have launched on-line booking for tours and hotels and has notched up  Rs 2.80 crore through on-line bookings during 2011-12 fiscal as against Rs 2.15 crore  during the previous year. Its turnover was Rs 101.60 crores in 2011-12 – 10 per cent increase

over the previous year.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs /DC / by J.V. Siva Prasanna Kumar / March 25th, 2013