COVID-19: Kodaikanal’s parks close again due to overcrowding

Many of the parks in the hill station of Kodaikanal of Tamil Nadu were closed again on July 6. This came a day after they were opened up amid lockdown relaxations in Tamil Nadu. Local authorities say that this decision was taken due to overcrowding by tourists, who were not being cautious enough. 

“We opened up the parks on Monday, following lockdown relaxations in Tamil Nadu and e-passes for inter and intra district travel being scrapped. But seeing the crowds surge, we decided to close down the parks. As Ooty and Coonoor have not opened up their parks yet, all the crowds came to Kodaikanal,” says K Srinivasan, Deputy Director of Horticulture, Kodaikanal. 

On Monday, July 5, Kodaikanal’s famous Bryant Park, Rose Garden, Chettiar Park, and other places were thrown open to the public. However, parks in other hill stations including Yercaud continued to remain closed due to a lack of specific guidelines from the government. According to reports which cite horticulture department officials, six parks and eco-tourism sites which come under the Forest Department remained closed in Yercaud. 

“In Kodaikanal, some parks are also undergoing some maintenance works including lawn mowing which we need to do now. We have decided to temporarily close the park, for a week or so, before opening up to the public once again,” K Srinivasan added. 

According to other reports, visitors were also not adhering to COVID-19 safety protocols, including masking and physical distancing. While they wore masks at the entrance, most visitors would take off their masks once inside to pose for photographs, etc. 

Earlier this week, huge crowds were seen thronging different hill stations in India, with lockdown being relaxed. 

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry officials said that it was ‘frightening’ to see pictures of tourists crowding at hill stations during the pandemic. According to reports, the Union government had also written to the government of Himachal Pradesh expressing concern over the rampant flouting of COVID-19 norms in Manali and Shimla. In June, the Himachal Pradesh government announced the easing of lockdown restrictions in the state which prompted several people to visit hill stations including Kullu-Manali, Dharamshala and Shimla.