The endless array of banaba trees (Manimaruthu), which are in full bloom, has painted this forest location in a coat of blue. Underneath the canopy, the Kallar flows quiet and desolate.
The coracle rafts that often waded through its crystal-clear water now remain moored on the banks. There are no tourists, no money, and little hope.
If the first wave of pandemic brought the Adavi tourism circuit in Pathanamthitta to a complete standstill, the second wave of COVID-19 appears to have put the livelihood of the tourism staff here in complete jeopardy.
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The families of as many as 84 persons employed in the eco-tourism projects here, all of whom are local residents, are now looking up to the Forest Department for making both ends meet.
Wilson Joy, who works as an oarsman in Kallar, says a resumption of rafting upon withdrawal of the lockdown is easier said than done. “It may take several days for the visitor inflow to pick up while the rafts will require to undergo a complete repair before returning to water,” he notes.
The Forest Department has engaged 26 oarsmen and 14 guards in Adavi, who are split into two groups for working on alternate days.
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Daily income
The daily income of each oarsman was fixed at ₹450, besides some allowances.
After the first lockdown was withdrawn, visitor footfall to the tourism circuit here improved steadily over the next three months till December 2020 and just when it looked set to rebound, the second wave of pandemic hit the State. “With the lockdown in place, we are also unable to look for other options for a daily income,” he adds.
Taking note of the situation, the Forest Department is now planning to disburse a monthly cash compensation to the tourism staff in the projects here. “Besides the oarsmen and the guards, a handful of other locals are employed with the elephant training camp, the elephant museum, the bamboo huts, and the Adavi-Gavi tourism circuit etc. The objective is to hand them around ₹5,000 per head as a compensation to the month-long lockdown,” says K.N. Shyam Mohanlal, Divisional Forest Officer, Konni.
The amount for disbursing the compensation will be drawn from the cash reserves generated through these tourism projects, which used to clock a daily revenue of over ₹5,000 during peak seasons.
Compensation
“We had resorted to a similar compensation scheme during the first lockdown as well, which brought down the overall cash reserves from around ₹1.80 crore to 15-16 lakh rupees. It, however, could be restored to some extend once the first lockdown was withdrawn,” the official adds.