Visitors to the Pine Forest in Udhagamandalam town will soon face a less perilous descent to the shores of the Kamaraj Sagar Dam, with renovation work ongoing to improve and beautify the location.
The area, which has been closed to tourists for the last few weeks is set to be re-opened in the first few weeks of January, sources from the Muthanadu Mund Eco-Development Committee, who maintain the area said.
Kuttas Kuttan, president of the EDC, said that there were concerns that visitors could suffer injuries while visiting the forest, as the walk towards the banks of the Kamaraj Sagar Dam from the entrance is very steep and becomes slippery and precarious after the rain.
“While there have not been any serious injuries reported due to people falling, we want to err on the side of caution, and put up a pathway made of stones which do not affect the beauty of the site,” said Mr. Kuttan.
While the pathway will extend a little more than a 100 meters of the most steep part of the descent to the dam, other improvements, including the setting up of a chain-link fence, are also to come up, to prevent people from illegally entering the forest after dusk.
“There are also plans to set up an archway at the entrance,” added Mr. Kuttan.
Artisans from the Toda tribal community, who run the EDC, have also been roped in to make benches and chairs from fallen pinewood trees.
“Instead of allowing the trees to go to waste, around five or six of our EDC members have been working on reusing the wood from the trees,” said Mr. Kuttan.
