Date:15/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/15/stories/2008011551400300.htm

Tamil Nadu

“Efforts on to make Yelagiri affordable tourist destination”

Staff Reporter

Steps taken to introduce more amusement spots: Collector

TIRUPATTUR: The State government is making all efforts to make Yelagiri Hills near Tirupattur an affordable and preferred tourist destination, Vellore Collector Dharmendra Pratap Yadav said here.

Participating at the valedictory of the medical camp organised by the NSS students of Marudhar Kesari Jain College for Women, Vaniyambadi, at the YMCA Community Hall in Yelagiri Hills, the Collector said that the district administration had been considering various options to make the hills an affordable and most preferred tourist destination. People to the Yelagiri Hills incurred much less of an expense when compared to other hill stations. Yelagiri Hills was always identified as poor man’s Ooty.

He said that Yelagiri Hills was the nearest tourist destination for people from Chennai and neighbouring Karnataka particularly Bangalore. All steps were being taken to introduce more amusement spots at the hills so that the tourists preferred to stay at least for a couple of days in the Hills. By increasing the tourist flow, there would be an overall economic development at Yelagiri Hills, which was thickly populated by the tribals.

Mr.Yadav said that the scenario at the hills had changed. At present the Hills had been attracting a good inflow of tourists. The hills had slowly started to attract foreign tourists too. This would surely lead to an overall economic development of the Vellore District.

PHCs well maintained

Making a particular reference to the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the district, the Collector said that the Primary Health Centres in various parts of the district was now being neatly maintained. People coming under the Below the Poverty Line (BPL) stood to benefit.

He said that as per the statistics available nearly 2,500 pregnancies were being performed in a month at the PHCs across the district. The PHCs were also equipped to perform complicated pregnancy related surgeries. The State Government was taking all steps to upgrade all the PHCs with modern facilities catering to the needs of the common man.

The Collector urged the youths to spread the message of harmony particularly among the people in villages. Later, reading the NSS medical camp report Lickmichand Jain, secretary of the College, said that such camps would give confidence to the students in shaping their future.