Thousands of tourists from various parts of the country and abroad visit this vacation destination every day since the summer tourist season is now in full swing. Regrettably not many of them are returning with the satisfaction of having experienced what they had looked forward to. Though until a few years ago conditions within the town only used to disappoint tourists now the disappointment starts even as they leave the plains for the hills.
With the number of cars, vans, buses and two-wheelers occupying the narrow stretch of the National Highway 67 connecting Mettupalayam and Ooty rising steadily pollution caused by vehicles with faulty engines has become a major source of concern.
Commenting on this the Executive Committee member of The Nilgiri Wildlife and Environment Association (NWEA) K. Vijay regretted that government vehicles, including those of the Transport Department, were among the major contributors to the problem. Such vehicles should be kept off the roads.
He recalled that a few years ago a smoke emission testing facility had been installed on the Mettupalayam-Nilgiris border and vehicles which failed the tests were not allowed to enter the district.
However, the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) D. Venkataraman said that since each test took about 15 minutes it would not be possible to hold up traffic on the busy road.
Stating that testing facilities were available in different parts of the district, he said that action will be taken against vehicles without pollution test certificates.
Pollution of other kinds has also become a source of concern here. Blaring horns, loudspeakers and music systems have become the order of the day.
Until about a decade ago majority of the tourists came here to enjoy the weather, the scenic beauty and the peace. However, now many of the visitors were not only oblivious to the noisy atmosphere but also added to the cacophony. This raised the frustration level of the discerning visitors.
With sewage overflowing at a number of places and the town heavily littered water pollution has also become a threat.