Published on : Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Munnar had expected 10 lakh tourists to visit the hill town between August and October to witness the blooming of Neelakurinji — a violet flower. However, now Munnar is closed for tourists as all three routes connecting it to the outside world are closed.
Roy Joseph, information assistant, District Tourism Promotion Council, Munnar said that they were promoting the Neelakurunji blooming season since the last year with a target of attracting 10 lakh tourists as compared to six lakh people during the last blooming season in 2006. To quote Joseph, “We made preparations to accommodate large numbers of tourists with arrangements for parking, better roads and toilet facilities, but then the natural calamity hit us. In Munnar, one could get an excellent sight of these flowers from Kovillur, Kadavari, Rajamala and Eravikulam, but those places remain cut-off after the washing away of Periyaravara bridge. The Army has inspected the bridge site and works are on to construct a Bailey bridge as soon as possible.”
“There are about 700 hotels and resorts including home-stay lodges in Munnar. We are facing a loss of Rs 5 crore a day. On an average, 15,000 guests were to stay in the hotels and resorts in Munnar during the month of August,” said VV George, president of Munnar Hotels and Resorts Association. He said that they were hoping to resume business from September 1 and cash in on the rest of the Neelakurinji season.