With an increase in the movement of public at some of the scenic locations in Chittoor district, officials of the police and forest departments have intensified surveillance at picnic spots.
Though the movement of tourists picked up last year after the first wave ebbed, the surge came to a standstill in April when the second wave struck the district.
But now again, with some respite in COVID infections for a few days now, coupled with relaxations at the border check posts with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, there is a steady increase in arrival of picnic lovers at the Horsley Hills, Kaigal, Talakona, Ubbalamadugu and Kailasanatha Kona and some lesser known waterfalls, which are yet to open to the public.
‘Many places yet to open to public’
The officials said that visitors who arrive there without knowledge about the closure still in force are made to return.
Tourism Manager (Chittoor) D.V. Chandramouli Reddy said that all the picnic spots were yet to open to the public. Though some of the tourists were reaching Talakona waterfalls without knowledge about its closure, they were allowed to reach up to the Lord Shiva temple, and entry into the waterfalls zone was strictly barred.
Forest Range Officer (Satyavedu) J. Prasada Rao said that a negligible number of tourists was coming to the Ubbalamadugu falls (also known as Tada falls) from Chennai, but they were made to return.
“Our staff are alert to the possibility of some tourists entering the reserve forest around the waterfalls through some porous routes. The waterfall at Nagalapuram hills is also under strict surveillance,” he said. Meanwhile, a police officer in Chittoor said that some of the picnic spots were equipped with digital surveillance following the Vijayawada incident in which a woman was sexually assaulted on the banks of Krishna river.
Apart from the police post at Horsley Hills, the patrolling was intensified at Kaigal waterfalls zone near Baireddipalle, close to Karnataka border. The Kaigal spot has a history of miscreants attacking tourists, including assaults on women.