The BJP and Congress will face-off against each other in Udhagamandalam constituency.
The incumbent Udhagamandalam MLA, R. Ganesh, of the Congress, is all set for a face off against the BJP’s Bhojarajan in the Assembly elections this year.
The constituency has historically been a Congress stronghold, with the party candidates emerging victorious in seven of the last nine elections held in Udhagamandalam assembly constituency since 1980. This time around, the BJP’s delay in announcing their candidate for Udhagamandalam, which came just two days before the final date for nominations to be filed might have further hurt their chances of victory.
Being dependent on the tourism and hospitality sector, the constituency requires a serious overhaul of its tourism infrastructure, primarily more space for parking within Udhagamandalam town. G. Janardhanan, president of the Ooty Public Awareness Association, said that there needs to be policy-level changes that bring in regulated, high quality, low-volume tourism to the Nilgiris district.
“This will ensure that people’s livelihoods are protected, while also not being overly damaging to the environment,” he said, pointing out that unregulated tourism was having a huge impact, such as the loss of forest cover, and an increase in the number of constructions.
“There also needs to be a moratorium on construction projects in the districts, as most of the major towns have become concrete sprawls, with many buildings coming up so that they can be run illegally commercially as makeshift hotels and home-stays,” said a conservationist from Udhagamandalam town.
Basic amenities too are lacking in villages located outside the major town of Udhagamandalam. Water shortages persist every season, while a proper waste disposal mechanism in residential areas, though it has improved in the last few years, needs further improvement.
Parts of Udhagamandalam town too require attention, including the highly populated area of Khandal, where most residents still do not have access to individual household toilets. R. Suryan, resident of Khandal said that many people in the area defecate out in the open, due to dirty community toilets. The town’s roads too need to be re-laid and possibly extended in areas wherever possible due to increasing tourist inflow each year.
