The Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) on Tuesday said that it had obtained an entry pass to begin trekking from Kurangani, where a fire killed 11 trekkers, including some belonging to another trek team.
It said that experienced trek organisers Nisha and Dhivya, supported by Arun and Vibin, had taken the team for the two-day trek, along with a local guide. They started off from Kurangani at the base and paid the fees at the forest entry check-post, where the officials issued them an entry pass, the CTC said on its website.
The team had trekked from Kurangani to a private tea estate at Kolukkumalai. “The trekking route from the base at Kurangani to Kolukkumalai is a regular and a clear trail created by local villagers and trekkers. On Saturday morning, when the group started to trek, there was no sign of fire in the entire forest range, and by evening, the team reached the Kolukkumalai tea estate at the top of the hill and camped there,” it said.
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“On Sunday afternoon, CTC reached out to the local guide who was with the trekking group. One of the few who were reachable by phone gave us accurate information on the location of the group,” the organisation said.
However, Rakesh Kumar Jagenia, Conservator of Forests (Madurai Circle), said, “There are conflicting reports. Nobody paid anything at the check-post.”
The forest department is yet to ascertain whether the CTC team had taken along a guide.
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He said that the forest department had been alerted about the fire in the morning through a system operated by the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun. “Our team was already downhill of Kolukkumalai, trying to put out the fire,” he said. The source of the fire has yet to be ascertained, but locals who graze cattle without permission usually set fire to the grass to induce fresh growth.