Why was Jinka Naresh, a young fisherman from Kuntala village in Neredigonda mandal, unhappy on seeing an unprecedented rush of visitors at the idyllic Kuntala waterfall in Adilabad district on the weekend? “The noise generated by such a large number of people scares the fish away,” he lamented, making it abundantly clear that the factor is a cause of worry for the local fishermen whose livelihood stands affected.
“You see, despite being a Sunday, all others in my community have stayed away today. They did not come here on seeing such a huge crowd flocking the place,” he pointed out to buttress his point of view.
The recent spell of rainfall has re-injected life into this wonder located in the hilly area of Neredigonda mandal. The phenomenon has attracted people but driven the fish away thereby depriving the fishermen of what would otherwise have been a windfall during the seasonal flow in the waterfall.
Naresh’s worry did establish that there is an intrinsic relationship between local communities and their environs and the need for taking a deeper look at it. Though the emerging trends in tourism envisage involvement of local communities in livelihoods generated at such places, it would be of help if the traditional way of earning a living is not sacrificed, according to the expert fisher.
Among others who are worried over uncontrolled crowds thronging the Kuntala waterfall are the Adivasis living in villages within a radius of 30 km in Neredigonda, Boath, Ichoda and Mamda mandals. The aboriginal tribes come here to worship Bheemalpen or Persapen mostly after harvest and in summer months.
Purka Isru, a Gond from Sirikonda village in Ichoda mandal says the cave temple on the face of the cliff of the right fall at Kuntala is a sacred place for the Gond Adivasis. “When a large number of people come here they tend to defile the place by their actions,” he observed.
“People also tend to obstruct us while we are performing our religious rites. The authorities should at least tell them to respect our customs when visiting the cave temple and its surroundings,” he suggested.
