It was a scary experience for a group of tourists from Chennai who were interested in seeing nature from close quarters on Friday.
Speaking to The Hindu here on Saturday, District Forest Officer M. Badrasamy said that about 25 lawyers, including women, had come here on a sight-seeing trip. A guide had offered to take them into a forest in the Pykara Range.
Accordingly, a van was arranged and the tourists were taken into the forest. However, all of them lost their way. And, darkness had put them in a tight spot. To make matters worse, they could not make phone calls since there was no coverage. After groping in the dark for a few hours, they somehow got through to a friend in Chennai who alerted an advocate H.M. Raju here. He got in touch with the forest department. A search team with refreshments was sent into the forest and the group located.
The guide was fined Rs. 10,000 and the van owner Rs. 2,000. Stating that a case was also registered, Mr. Badrasamy said that tourists should exercise caution as the forests were teeming with wild animals.
