What used to a perfect picnic spot for families has been reduced to a favourite haunt for hordes of tipplers during weekends.
Pulluthu, a natural spring on the slope of Nagamalai, a hill range that starts west of Madurai, has all the ingredients for a perfect getaway.
A natural choice
Chill water from the spring that flows into a sort of stone bathtub surrounded by massive banyan, mango and tamarind trees, scores of touch-me-nots and other plants and flowers, monkeys, butterflies, cicada sound… it has everything to be one with the nature.
Just 10 km away from the city, it can be reached either from Theni highway through a picturesque road lined with shady trees along Nilayur channel (locals call it ‘kalaangarai') or from Melakkal highway beyond Thuvariman.
Families, mostly villagers, also come to Pulluthu to worship the idol near the spring and take bath since the water is believed to have curative power. Schools bring their students to this place for a nature outing.
Everything went well till the tipplers played spoilsport. Now, shards of broken liquor bottles, use-and-throw tumblers, carry-bags and rotting food leftovers are found strewn all over the place.
Even the approach road from Theni highway has not been spared. Ribaldry by the merrymakers during weekends and holidays makes families squirm and make a quick exit.
J. Nagasamy, watchman of Sivananda Tapovanam, which has a fenced land abutting the spring, says, “The lewd language and behaviour of the drunken youth have driven away families from coming to this spot. But whenever schools bring children for picnic, they are allowed to come inside the tapovanam orchard to let them have snacks or meals in peace.”
Most of this area is owned by Boys Town, one of the units run by the De La Salle Brothers. It runs a trade training institute for poor and destitute boys on a sprawling campus.
Says K. S. P. Janardhan Babu, Assistant Director-Programmes of M.S. Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation that runs Retreat, a long-term centre for the mentally disabled, at Pulluthu: “We opened a small shop manned by our inmates inside our premises facing the road so that they get a chance to interact with the outside world.”
“The shop, along with a PCO, initially did a good business. But after the advent of mobiles, and since the kind of stuff the recent crowds want is not sold, we closed shop,” Mr Babu says. The district authorities can do well to tap the tourism potential of this place and bring a semblance of order by providing basic civic amenities and security. When development takes place, there will be no place for misuse and those indulging in hideous activities will not be there, he says.
S.A. Martin Joseph, a local youth, says the number of vehicles coming to Pulluthu has risen exponentially. Not only the revelers, the number of people visiting Boys Town, T.S. College of Education, Tata-Dhan Academy and Retreat, besides Nanban Farm on the approach road from Thuvariman side, is high.
Palpandi, a folklorist of the Dhan Foundation, says, “Peculiarly, the approach road from Melakkal highway comes under three panchayats of Melamathur, Keezhamathur and Thuvariman. So, citing jurisdictional overlap, the road has not been laid for years. Road is a misnomer for this 1.6 km gravel-strewn dirt track.” Many petitions to lay a pucca road were given to Collector and MLA, but to no avail. One solution being mulled is to pool the resources of the user-institutions and four brick kilns using this stretch to re-lay the road by roping in NSS volunteers.
Mr. Babu says, “After a woman's body was found here a few years back and, suspecting more illegal activities, representatives of all the organisations here requested for more policing. The Nagamalai Pudukottai police do make rounds and keep tabs on the goings-on here.”
