Ooty/Coimbatore: As the Theni trekking tragedy has shocked the nation, greens and public forums here in Nilgiris have called for regulation of trekking in the hills with stringent norms and to form a task force to curb illegal Trekking activities in the wooded zones.
Stating that trekking is very popular in some of the private tea plantations and the attached jungles or along it in places such as Kinnakorai, Kolakambai, Kokalada, Emerald and Ebbaand slopes, Mr. Rajesh kumar James, secretary of the Citizens' Forum of Coonoor, said that illegal trekking is also reported in the jungle peripheries in Masinagudi, Parson's Valley and Bokkapuram area.
"In the jungle-rich Nilgiris, trekking cannot be prohibited in total. But, the safety of trekkers in private lands is always in question. It is better to abolish trekking activities in plantation areas or jungles attached to private lands. Or otherwise, the forest department and the ditrict administration should form a task force to monitor the trekking activities in the private jungles/plantation fields. There is a need to evolve a licensing mechanism to regulate trekking. It is always better to prevent than cure, so, the officialdom need to pull up their socks now to set right things now," Mr. James said.
Toeing in on the same lines, Mr. S. Jayachandran, joint secretary of the Tamil Nadu Green Movement, said that it is a known fact that the jungles always go dry in months between January and mid-April. So it is better to ban trekking in these months in Nilgiris.
"Moreover, any trekking should be confined to jungles like Avalanchee, Bana
gudishola areas, where the landscape is quite easy for any sort of access. Now-a-days there are more chances of man-animal conflict in trekking routes. The members in the trekking team should also be restricted to not more than a dozen. Alsol, the local tourist guides, who incite interest among the tourists for illegal trekking, should be educated or banned from organising treks,” he advocated.
Kovai couple may be among trekking organisers
Officials suspect involvement of a Coimbatore-based couple for being one among the organisers for trekking at Theni-Kurangani hills where nine persons died in a forest fire and many others injured.
According to sources, Vibin, 34, software engineer, native of Marthandom in Kanyakumari district working in an IT-based firm at Chennai, had been frequently visiting forest hills for trekking. Another person, Divya, 30, working in the same IT firm and native of Kinathukadavu on the outskirts of Coimbatore, is believed to have frequently joined the former for trekking, both being members of the trekking club.
Sources said the two had got married couple of years ago and after the death of Divya's father, the couple settled down at Kinathukadavu looking after Divya's father's business.
The couple had informed their friends at Chennai asking them to join for trekking at Theni-Kurangani hills to celebrate the International Women's Day. Vibin was one among the nine died in the forest fire and Divya is being treated for 70 per cent burn injuries she suffered in the forest fire.
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore Forest conservator S. Rama subramainam had alerted the rangers in Coimbatore Forest division asking to keep an eye on trespassers entering nearby forest areas.
