Winding past the picture -perfect reservoirs, deep forests and rolling grasslands, the road trip to Gavi has long had it all – except sufficient connectivity.
All that is set to change this December with the budget Tourism Cell under the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC) set to launch package services to link up the obscure forest village here with the visitors. The service, slated to begin from December 1 onwards, will be run on a daily basis with three 33-seater buses -- one each from the northern, central and southern zones.
Confirming the development, Corporation officials said the service was being launched to address the gap `that’s long needed filling’. ``The plan is to develop a tourism circuit by linking up Gavi with other destinations on the high-range such as Paruthumpara, Vagamon or Kumily’’, said an official.
The State-owned carrier currently operates two passenger services to the destination, which has been hugely popular among tourists even outside the State. The popularity, however, has had an adverse effect on the travel plans of those residing at Gavi and other regular commuters while the overcrowding of passengers makes these trips even more dangerous. It was against this backdrop that the corporation had approached the Forest department for permission to operate the trips.
“The Gavi packages have received a huge response with around 7,000 bookings for December alone. The options of opening overnight stay units for travellers from faraway destinations at the KSRTC terminal at Pathanamthitta are too being explored in this connection,” the official added.
Commenting on the initiative, a senior official with the Forest Department said the movement of visitors through KSRTC bus would help the department to regulate the flow of visitors and vehicles to the ecologically-sensitive location.
“The Kerala Forest Development (KFDC), which manages the destination with active involvement of the local populace, offers different tour packages that facilitates maximum exposure to the wild life. Running these packages in association with the KSRTC is an effective way to check unauthorised entries into the forest,” he noted.
