Chennai: After battling to survive Sunday’s lethal
forest fire in
Theni district’s
Kurangani Hills, members of one of the two trekking groups caught in the blaze on Monday stoked a controversy by denying the state government’s version that they lacked permits from the forest department.
In an affidavit to the local police, D Prabhu, the Erode-based organiser of the second group of trekkers, submitted that the 12-member team paid an “entry fee” of Rs 200 per head at the forest department check post in Munthal, before proceeding to climb the Kurangani trail.
Prabhu filed the affidavit shortly after chief minister,
Edappadi K Palaniswami and deputy chief minsiter O Panneerselvamtold reporters in Madurai that the trekkers “did not have permission from the forest department”.
A senior forest official confirmed that one group had indeed paid the entry fee at the forest check post. “The entry fee is to trek through a designated forest trail. But these trekkers did not follow that trail and took another route,” the official said. A forester who located the stranded trekkers on the hills on Sunday too said that they were found at a spot away from the designated trail.However, members of
Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) said that this was because the trekkers tried to escape the forest fire. “Why would they hold their positions when a fire was approaching them,” asked a CTC member, requesting anonymity.
Shankaranarayanan, a CTC trek organiser for the last four years, told TOI that their members, led by the deceased duo Arun Prabaharan and Vipin, could not have bypassed the forest check post and gained access to the Kurangani hills.
“There are only two trails to go up the Kurangani hills. One is a jeep trail and the other is a foot trail. The foot trail is steeper to climb so trekkers who find it tough to walk uphill prefer to take the jeep to the Kozhukkumalai estate,” said Shankaranarayanan. “Our male organisers (Arun and Vipin) have been to these hills multiple times. They were aware that trekking to where there is no trail is not permitted,” he added.
City researcher Sarah Ramya, who has trekked in the Western Ghats over two dozen times, told TOI that it was not usual for people to get permission to trek in Kurangani hills. “It is similar to trekking in Kodaikanal or Ooty. A permit is only required if you wish to go deeper inside the reserve forest areas,” she said.
As per the affidavit, the trek team from Erode, organised by Tour de India Holidays, and CTC team had coincidentally met at the estate. “CTC team started their downhill trek at least an hour ahead of us in the morning on Sunday. We met them again at Othamaram around 2 pm, when they had had their lunch and were resting. This is when we noticed the fire,” Prabhu said in his affidavit.
