With the recent surge in tourists to the Nilgiris, Forest Department staff are having to work overtime to not only clean up litter discarded by visitors to the tiger reserve, but also prevent them from trying to feed wildlife, trespass into forest areas and driving recklessly within the reserve.
The influx of visitors, especially from Kerala and Karnataka, has led to the Forest Department tightening vigil across the reserve. After witnessing multiple violations within the reserve on Wednesday, the Forest Department registered three cases for various offences.
Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Director of MTR (Buffer Zone) P. Arunkumar said that clean-ups are conducted across the reserve routinely each week. “However, such has been the huge increase in tourists to the Nilgiris using the Kalhatti Road to reach Theppakadu, that we have seen a huge increase in littering,” said Mr. Arunkumar. While the Forest Department stops tourists who they witness throwing away litter irresponsibly, many more tourist vehicles pass through the reserve and discard their litter in the sensitive eco-sensitive area without detection, said officials.
“From the beginning of this week, we have doubled the number of clean-ups conducted within the reserve,” added Mr. Arunkumar.
Badly-behaved tourists have also been noticed attempting to feed wildlife with snack items, while a group of tourists were also stopped by a senior Forest Department official who found them racing their vehicles in the tiger reserve. The Forest Department registered three cases against these offenders and fined them ₹ 4,000 on Wednesday, officials stated. However, they expect to be kept busy by such tourists for the next month, as the summer festival season begins this week.
“Visitors who enter the Nilgiris should have some awareness about the ecology of the district and how important these areas are to wildlife. It is an almost impossible task to stop all the vehicles at the checkpost and check the vehicles for plastic waste and liquor bottles, the most commonly discarded items. Tourists themselves need to be more sensible,” said a senior Forest Department official who stated that strict action will continue to be taken against offenders within the reserve.
