A day after the district administration partially imposed restrictions on tourists during the Dasara season starting from October 7, the stakeholders in Kodagu are unhappy and want the Deputy Commissioner to reconsider her decision on imposing curbs on the entry of visitors to key sites such as Raja Seat, General Thimmayya Memorial Museum, Gaddige (Raja’s Tomb), Madikeri Fort, and Nehru Mantap. The ban has been imposed only on these sites from October 7 to 17.
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The Cauvery Theerthodbhava is scheduled on October 17 and the district administration is yet to decide on allowing entry of devotees for witnessing the divine occurrence at Talacauvery, given the pandemic situation. Last year, the public was barred from witnessing the event, causing huge disappointment as it attracts tens of thousands of people, not just from Kodagu and other districts but also from other States.
Former Speaker and MLA K.G. Bopaiah has convened a meeting on October 7 to take a call on the entry of devotees to Talacauvery on October 17.
Stakeholders said the Deputy Commissioner’s order has been misinterpreted by many as a “total ban” on tourists to Kodagu, although only a few places in Madikeri town will actually be out of bounds.
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“Why is Kodagu always singled out when no such curbs are imposed in other districts, including Mysuru where the Dasara season is usually grand?” asked B.R. Nagendra Prasad, president of Kodagu Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants’ Association. He said the Cauvery Theerthodbhava is on October 17, but the ban on tourists to Raja Seat and others places has been imposed from October 7. The restrictions could have been imposed only on October 17 and not earlier, he said.
“The matter has been communicated to the Deputy Commissioner with a request to reconsider her decision. We strongly hope our plea will be considered in the interest of Kodagu tourism,” he said.
Opposition
However, some locals are opposing the reopening of tourism in Kodagu. Videos of the traffic jams and tourist vehicles flooding Madikeri and its surroundings are being circulated on social media platforms, accusing the authorities of not taking enough measures to control the situation when the pandemic is still not over. They fear uncontrolled tourism would escalate the situation in the district, whose hospital infrastructure is not as robust as in districts such as Mysuru and Mangaluru.