About half a dozen waterfalls in the district are faced with unhygienic conditions owing to unchecked revelry of picnickers and tipplers. These places are dappled with sharp pieces of broken liquor bottles, coupled with bad odour from leftover eatables.
Moolakona, 15 km from Puttur, situated in a forest inthe foothills of a crest-like hill formation, is known for perennial flow of water round the year and their potential is mysterious in the sense that the falls would continue to flow despite no rains for two years.
During weekends, over 3,000 people from various places such as Chittoor and Tamil Nadu border throng the zone.
Other than weekdays, the place is a virtual haunt for tipplers, who carry liquor cases with them on two-wheelers and SUVs.
The youth venture into the woods and cross the stream across the rocks. They even engage cooks to cook non-vegetarian dishes. Making night halts, their revelry does not stop until the consumed liquor bottles are dashed to the rocks in the stream, and the leftover eatables are thrown into the water.
The waste cascading down the stream reaches the puddles beneath. Both sides of the water can then be seen with mounds of plastic waste.
As picnic lovers enter the water, they face risk of getting hurt by the glass pieces. On many occasions, their joyful trip ends up in unhappiness and serious injuries. They also carry ill-health with them from the unhealthy atmosphere.
In spite of a large number of picknickers, no police or forest personnel can be seen over there.