Kerala Entice Tech-savvy Tourists

Alappuzha, also known as Alleppey, is a city in Alappuzha District of Kerala state of southern India. It is the administrative headquarters of District. Referred to as the Venice of the East, Alappuzha is considered to be

the oldest planned town in this region and the lighthouse built on the coast of the town is the first of its kind along the Laccadive Sea coast. Alappuzha has always enjoyed an important place in the marine history of Kerala. Today, it is famous for its boat races, backwater holidays, beaches, marine products, and coir industry. Alappuzha beach is a popular picnic spot. The pier, which extends into the sea here, is over 137 years old. Entertainment facilities at the Vijaya Beach Park add to the attraction of the beach.

Alappuzha has a fascinating history of its own. Its centuries-old international trade connections, early links with the rise of Christianity and political turbulence of the 1940s all make Alappuzha a historian’s haunt.

A team of Malayalis on the internet is digitizing these parts of history on to Wikipedia in what could be a first for an Indian city. The Malayalam Wikipedians, as part of the worldwide Quick Response (QR) Pedia initiative, have launched an ambitious project where information on about 150 locations of prominence in Alappuzha will be collected and digitized as QR codes into boards to be placed at the locations.

Using the QR code reader on his or her Smartphone a tourist can read the code and through the internet, be directed to the Wikipedia entry in English and Malayalam on the location, complete with leading directions and geo-codes.

The visitor can also take the QR code on the board in a photograph and download it on to a computer with an internet connection; the code will lead the visitor to the Wikipedia entry.
The Malayalam Wikipedia project initiated during the Wiki Sangamotsavam, a meet-up of Wikipedia users in Kerala and other states, held from December 21 to 23 in Alappuzha. T K Sujith, a Malayalam Wikipedian and general convenor of the Sangamotsavam stated that the Alappuzha lighthouse is the first location the project has covered. Out of the locations selected for the project, only about 12 have existing Wikipedia pages. Locations with historical relevance, old churches, the city’s sea bridge, the canals and boat jetty, popular boat race venues, important pockets in Kuttanad and even the more recent constructions including local administration offices will be covered in the project.