No more will safety be a cause of concern for visitors who flock to the majestic Kuntala waterfall in Adilabad district, even in summer season when water ceases to cascade down the incline of the fall. The Forest Department which looks after the place has initiated safety measures, including plugging of dangerous holes and crevices in the water body, to make the place safer for visitors during monsoon.
The drop of the falls is about 140 ft while the width is 350 ft making the rocky phenomenon the largest such wonder of nature in Telangana. Water however cascades down in two falls located at either end.
So far, 136 persons have lost their lives by accidental drowning, most of them in the large pool at the foot of the first fall. The second fall, which is located at the other end of the rocky surface is generally out of bounds for the visitors as they need to cross a fast flowing stream at the bottom to reach it.
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First cataract
“We have begun with closing the deep crevice formed at the first drop midway of the height of the fall by draining out the water. The exercise will be repeated at the pool at the foot of the fall during the next few days to expose the faults,” revealed Adilabad District Forest Officer B. Prabhakar.
“Water is being drained off so as to help effectively fill the gaps in the rock bed with boulders. This will ensure that visitors can enter water for a dip without worrying of the danger of drowning,” he added. As a first step the department has gone in for location detail mapping of Kuntala waterfall through Differential Global Positioning System. “This will reveal even the dimensions of different locations at the picturesque place so that proper steps for improvement of the place can be initiated,” the DFO stated.
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Better amenities
The forest department is also planning to charge visitors in addition to increasing the parking fee, the only charge that picnickers now pay. “We will charge more but we will provide commensurate facilities,” Mr. Prabhakar observed. Once the plan of developing the place at basic level gets initiated visitors will have good toilets and other things like safe drinking water from an RO plant.
On Thursday, villagers from habitations around Kuntala staged a protest demanding suspension of work on plugging of dangerous fissures and crevices in the fall. The protest was staged under the aegis of Kuntala Parirakshana Committee.
They protested saying the move would irreparably cause damage to the natural spot. Adilabad DFO B. Prabhakar said he would try and remove their misgivings.