Nilgiris sees a surge of tourists during Pongal holidays

More than 8,000 tourists braved steady rains and very poor visibility to visit the Nilgiris during the Pongal holidays.

Horticulture Department officials said that around 4,000 visitors had come to the Government Botanical Garden on Thursday, and an equal number on Friday. They said the number of tourists would increase during the weekend, and attributed the high tourist footfall to the Pongal holidays.

Most roads in Udhagamandalam and Coonoor towns witnessed huge crowds and heavy traffic, with the situation worsening due to poor visibility caused by heavy fog throughout the district.

Police personnel were dispatched to key intersections in the major towns of Udhagamandalam, Coonoor and Kotagiri to regulate traffic. Police personnel were also deployed at many of the district’s accident-prone hotspots to prevent accidents.

Traffic along the Kalhatti Ghat Road, leading into the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) was strictly regulated, and vehicles from outside the Nilgiris were stopped from descending into the Sigur plateau using the road. Instead, they were asked to proceed to MTR via Gudalur to minimise the risk of accidents.

According to the district administration, average rainfall of 12.90 mm was recorded in the Nilgiris, with Udhagamandalam town receiving 20 mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period till Friday morning. Other parts of the Nilgiris, such as Avalanche, Ketti, Kotagiri and Kodanad too received heavy rainfall till Friday morning.