Granite debris still slashing tyres on Muzhappilangad drive-in beach, 50 metre stretch uncleared as of 26 October

India has almost nowhere you can legally drive on sand. Muzhappilangad in Kannur is the exception, a four kilometre run along the surf that the Kannur DTPC itself promotes as Asia's longest drive-in beach. So when a report on 26 October said that jagged granite is sitting in that sand, it matters to anyone who has ever pointed a Thar or a Jimny at the waterline there.

Onmanorama reported that rocks of varying sizes are scattered across a 50 metre stretch near the Palm Shore area, some exposed and some buried just under the surface. The granite is left over from material brought in for a walkway project. A cleanup was carried out after public complaints and accidents, then abandoned halfway. T K Sahir, a member of the Ward 1 development committee of Muzhappilangad Grama Panchayat, said the authorities have been petitioned repeatedly and no action has followed.

Why a 50 metre stretch is worse than it sounds

The report notes the real trap is high tide. Seawater covers the rocky stretch and the stones vanish under the surf, so a driver reading the beach as flat wet sand hits them blind. Onmanorama says this has already caused severe accidents, including vehicles overturning, and that the jagged edges slash and blow out tyres. Barefoot walkers are cutting themselves on the same rock.

For a 4x4 driver the practical reading is simple. Drop your pressures for sand and you also drop your sidewall protection, and a sidewall cut from granite is not a repair, it is a new tyre. Insurance on a tyre cut is usually a no, since most Indian policies treat tyres as consumables unless you have a specific add-on. Drive the stretch north of Palm Shore at walking pace, stay in existing tracks you can see are clean, and do not enter water you have not walked first.

The rules you are driving under

Muzhappilangad is not a free-for-all. A June report on safety at Kannur's beaches put the drive-in stretch at 4.5 km from Edakkad to Dharmadam Island, with a 20 km/h limit that drivers routinely break at up to 60 km/h. It also recorded four lifeguards available against a requirement of ten, with only two on duty on a given day and none at night, plus seven people swept away in past years. Kerala Police enforce the speed limit on the sand like any other road.

The walkway that produced the debris is part of the state's Muzhappilangad and Dharmadam beach development, approved at ₹233.71 crore through KIIFB, with a first phase of ₹79.51 crore that included a 1.2 km drive-in track, pedestrian walkways on concrete platforms, kiosks and lighting.

One last thing worth saying plainly. Muzhappilangad is legal because it has been designated and managed as a drive-in beach. That is not a precedent for Alappuzha, Gokarna, Goa or any Tamil Nadu beach, where taking a vehicle onto sand will get you booked. If you want beach driving in India, this is the place to do it, and the least you owe it is to report the rock and drive slowly enough to see it.

Sources

• Jagged granite stones pose severe threat to vehicles at Kannur's Muzhappilangad drive-in beach, Onmanorama, 26 October 2026
• Kannur's beautiful beaches, including Kerala's only drive-in beach, demand safety measures, Onmanorama
• Muzhappilangad Beach, DTPC Kannur
• Muzhappilangad Dharmadam beach project launch, Kerala Tourism