As the Vennamadaikkulam on the Courtallam – Five Falls is overflowing, thanks to rainfall a week ago, boating service in this waterbody was started on Saturday.
Flagging off the boating service at Vennamadaikulam, District Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, which is offering boating service, has kept good number of rowing, pedalling and kayaking boats ready for the tourists. When the TTDC offered this service last year between June 16 and September 16, it garnered ₹7.38 lakh as revenue.
Since the Vennamadaikkulam is brimming with water now, the TTDC has started the boating service from Saturday onwards with affordable fare. The tourists taking the boats should compulsorily wear life jackets even though the swimmers have been kept ready in the boat jetty, Ms. Shilpa said.
The season at Courtallam started on a sluggish and delayed note this year, influx of water to Vennamadaikulam started only ten days ago and the continuous rain that lashed the tourist destination between July 19 and 22 took the storage level of this waterbody to its maximum capacity. Subsequently, TTDC started the boating service, which was first introduced by the then Collector Sunil Paliwal, who released funds in 2003 for constructing retaining wall to ensure a storage of 7 feet water in the tank.
The TTDC operates double-seat pedalling boats (charging ₹120 for 30 minutes), four-seat pedalling boats (₹150), four-seat rowing boats (₹185) and single-seater kayaks (₹95).
