Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Yercaud vies with Ooty, Kodai for tourist money

By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau

Tourist enjoying a boat ride on the Kodaikanal lake.

CHENNAI APRIL 27. The searing summer is definitely driving more people up Tamil Nadu's famed but fatigued hill stations this year. Though the most worn-out of them — Ooty and the second in line, Kodaikanal — have registered increased tourist inflows and seem set for a good year, the relatively virgin Yercaud near Salem is emerging a contender — an indication that polluted lakes, dry waterfalls and places with tourist-fleecing locals are not so preferred anymore.

And the authorities are taking notice.

For instance, Ooty Lake is again becoming a `must-visit' spot, after the Government in a major clean-up spent about Rs.1.74 crores to free it of the dreaded water hyacinth and started taking steps to prevent town's sewage from seeping into it. The Government Botanical Gardens, with almost all its 100-odd varieties nearing full bloom, continues to be the most popular and has already hosted about 1.9 lakh visitors between April 1 and 26 — about 30,000 more than last year. A trip to the gardens now includes added floral attractions, Anchusa and Alyssum Wonderland. Besides, there's the Centenary Rose Park and the much-improved Sim's Park to visit.

Efforts have paid off and the Nilgiris, which suffered a serious blow due to the ongoing crisis in the tea industry, is now picking up. After a dreary 2000, the tourist flow to the hill station has steadily increased over the past two years and indicators are it will continue this year.

Festive look

Kodaikanal, with its 20 degree Celsius afternoons, is already wearing a festive look, though its summer flower festival starts only on May 24. The tourist flow on weekdays touched 6,000 and went up to 11,000 during weekends, officials at Byrant Park, major tourist spot, said. Roadside shops have been doing brisk business and generated huge garbage, except for a brief period when the trucker's strike brought down the flow. As usual, the Kodaikanal Lake is the centre of attraction with tourists flocking in for boat rides, horse riding and cycling. About 1.5 lakh tourists have already visited the place this year.

However, it has not been all smiles for tourists in both the places. At Ooty, tourists complain of being fleeced by hoteliers and poor road conditions. Insufficient water supply is also a problem in some areas due to improper distribution.

At Kodaikanal, water contamination and overcrowding have largely kept out foreigners. And those who have ventured to the hills have been greeted by dry or thin waterfalls, a weed-filled slushy lake and overcrowded noisy spots. On the other hand, Yercaud, about 30 km from Salem, is emerging a major tourist attraction. It is sparsely populated with about 30,000 tribal people, who do not fleece tourists, less congested and definitely less polluted than other hill stations, relatively inexpensive and has a pleasant climate all year. Besides, beautification works have been taken up and the hill station given a facelift as part of a Green Clean project by the Salem Collectorate.

The tourist flow this year, mainly from Bangalore, Chennai and Kerala, has increased compared to last year. About 3,000 tourists visit the hill station daily now, and the number is expected to swell to about 30,000 during the flower season in May. The occupancy rate in the hotels has gone up from 30 to 45 per cent. An indication of its growing popularity is the increasing number of hotels and resorts.

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