Ropeway likely at Kuntala waterfall

Forest department is planning to set up ropeway at the Kuntala waterfall for the benefit of the visits especially aged elderly persons as one has to climb down above 400 steps to reach the bottom of the waterfall.

Minister for forest and environment Jogu Ramanna recently held a review meeting with the forest official and discussed on the development of Kuntala waterfall.

He instructed the officials to start development works at Kuntrala and security and safety measures for visitors and prevent the incidents of visitors drowning. 

However, Minister instructed the forest officials take u development works and safety measures without affecting natural beauty of the waterfall. The officials decided to take restrooms and toilets for visitors.

Speaking to this newspaper, minister Jogu Ramana said as many as 136 visitors drowned accidentally in the whirlpool so far at the Kuntala waterfall and the have prepared plan to take development and safety and security measures at the waterfall to encourage eco-tourism without affecting the natural beauty of the waterfall and firest there.

He said they were also planning to set up ropeway the convenience of the elderly visitors and added that they will also intensify the steps to control the illegal teak wood smuggling and fell in trees by some professional wood smugglers in the district.

On Sunday, Adivasis of ten villages surrounding Kuntaka waterfall have gathered at Kuntala (B) village and took a decision to oppose any effort to fill the deep ditches and whirlpool with boulders and cement and concrete in the middle of the waterfall. adivasis said they were against any efforts which deface the natural beauty of the waterfall and also sacredness of the place.

The villagers made it clear to the forest officials that they will welcome the steps like erecting fencing and constructing a cement wall to prevent the visitors from going close the waterfall by the forest officials.

Adivasi leader Daulath Rao said a second meeting will be held with the top forest officials on the issue and even they were planning to meet the Minister to put forth their objections on the issue.

Eco-tourism to curb Maoist activity

The state government is combating Maoist activity through determined and large –scale laying of Panchayat Raj, R & B roads and promoting eco- tourism in the Naxal- affected areas. These strategies are likely to push the Maoists into a further corner further of north Telangana in the days to come.

Adilabad district alone is seeing the laying of these roads at a cost of Rs 1,390 crore. Naxal activity has declined in north Telangana with the substantial improvement of road connectivity in the interior areas in last 20 years under successive state and Central government schemes like Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana, Backward Regional Grant Funds (BRGF) and also with the World Bank’s funds.

Minister for forest and environment Jogu Ramanna said so far road and bridge works worth of nearly Rs 550 crore out of allocated sum of Rs 1,390 crore had been completed at various places including interior areas. The remaining works would take place at different levels in the district.

Huge road laying activity and newly laid roads have been seen in the rural and interior areas in the course of last one year in the Adilabad district.    

The state government is focusing on laying internal roads from villages to mandal and mandal headquarters to district headquarters and converting the existing roads into double roads. Some of the proposed road works in interior forest areas were yet to take off due to lack of clearance from the forest department.

The Tourism department has come out with eco- tourism projects and trekking tours in the jungles that were  once the strongholds of Maoists from Adilabad via Karimnagar, Warangal, and Khammam districts.

The Maoist activity will quite naturally decline in these areas with the buzz of  tourist arrivals becoming regular.

It will also become easier for the police to visit the interior areas and increase surveillance on Maoists and their sympathizers’ activity, if any, and develop a better informant networks if there is road connectivity to the interior areas.     

The central government is also encouraging the installation of cell towers in the interior and Naxal- affected areas to improve communication networks in a bid to control Maoist activities. 

Antisocials using tourism hotel for their activities

Some antisocial elements are using the tourism restaurant Haritha at Jannaram for their activities in Adilabad district.   

Sources said, such people were coming from Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Adilabad and were staying at the restaurant as tourists and gambling in the rooms, indulging in settlement of land disputes and disputes in Chit Fund.

It is learnt that some local political leaders and officials are booking rooms for such people and making special arrangements for unscrupulous elements.       

Liquor parties are being celebrated openly at the restaurant and doubts are being raised about women who come along with men on whether they are their family members or not.

Instead of boosting the eco- tourism in Kawal Tiger Reserve, illegal activities are getting a boost. Recently police raided the restaurant and took a few persons into custody while they were playing cards.

News is making rounds locally that even some police officials from Karimnagar district are frequently coming to the restaurant and settling land disputes here. Tourism officials are more interested in increasing revenue but do not bother about the illegal activities.       

Last year, a police sub-inspector of Karimnagar district had opened fire in a hotel room in Nirmal town in which a hotel server injured. It was said that the SI came to Nirmal to settle a land dispute and subsequently he was suspended from the service.

The restaurant was being run by tourism department and there is no proper supervision. The forest department’s role has become nominal though they are promoting eco-tourism in the Kawal Tiger Reserve.

K. Ranganna of Jannaram town said to their surprise the manager of the restaurant say all the rooms were booked one week ago and there was no vacancy whenever they asked for rooms for their relatives who wanted to come to Jannram to visit  forest.

He said the some of the local businessmen and government employees are booking one or two rooms and play cards on Sunday as it is a holiday for shops in Jannaram.