Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

A mess

Sir, — I first came to Kodaikanal in 1981 not knowing that I would witness its last blaze of glory. Amid the pristine natural beauty, cottages and a placid lake, I contemplated the local hill people whose steady lives and quiet families were only occasionally interrupted by outsiders.

Today, the town has become a chaotic mess. Ugly concrete buildings saturate every nook and corner.

Lorries, buses and cars infest every street belching diesel fumes with blaring horns.

Massive billboards block the view of the lake, and every surface is plastered with gaudy advertisements. Thousands of visitors stream into the town and litter the streets.

This once glorious hill-station that took centuries to mature and season has been destroyed in one generation.

Can financial greed and gratuitous commercialism be held in check just long enough for some good citizens to think about the whole community and the future?

Edward G. Verlander,

New York, U.S.

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