The Hindu Business Line : Incredible!

As the evening slowly dissolved into night and the boat made its way back to shore after a 90-minute ride on the Periyar lake in Thekkady, Kerala, we drank in the greenery, the silence, and snatched one final glimpse of the wild animals that came into view in the surrounding pristine forest.

But doing this tourist routine in August, little did I sense the danger that lurked with every boat-ride that ventured into the grand lake, until tragedy struck a few weeks later when one of the boats capsized killing several people. There are several versions about the cause of the mishap and one of these is that people on the upper deck suddenly rushed to one side of the boat to get a view of some wild animals.

Looking back, I remember how on our boat too many people, excited at spotting a wild dog in the forest or a heron on tree stumps in the water, screamed and rushed to different ends of the boat, swaying it dangerously. Other more eco-aware tourists tried hushing them and explaining to them how it was important to observe animals in their habitats in silence and without disturbing them. Yes, there were some organisers at hand but they were too few to control the crowd and were busy helping tourists spot animals.

I also remember how locals (for whom a boat ride in Thekkady is a weekend getaway) bemoaned the lack of safety and other supporting infrastructure, as they felt this would jeopardise the tourist potential of not just Kerala, advertised as God’s own country, but also India as a whole.

Before we boarded, were we given basic instructions for our safety and for the safekeeping of the environment we were going into? No. Were there lifejackets or lifeboats and lifeguards on shore for any eventuality? There were none visible to us and, given the recent tragedy, it appears unlikely that there were any such measures in place.

On the Kerala Tourism boat though, according to one account, there were lifejackets, but unopened from their original packing!

The sad part is that such oversights and apathy were common even at several other destinations I visited recently in Kerala. One could clearly see the lack of planning and foresight, and the decay that had set in at popular tourist places, be it the backwaters of Kumarakom (Vembanad lake), or the dizzying heights of Parumdumpara — the Eagle’s rock — a yet-to-be-discovered tourist haunt off the Kottayam-Kumily road.

There is possibly nothing more mesmerising than a boat-ride down the backwaters, with the sound of water rushing alongside and the blue sky above you. But, here again, plastics, garbage and weeds are visible in the water. And after this tragedy it is petrifying to even think how well prepared the locals are if an untoward event were to take place here.

And if you think safety may have got the short shrift, but hospitality is impeccable, you are in for another surprise. Pull up at one of the little restaurants alongside the backwaters for a cup of tea or some tender coconut water, and you are told by the rather reluctant men running the outlet that only bottled drinks are on offer! It is shocking how authorities allow natural wonders that lend themselves to sustainable eco-tourism to be run down in such a haphazard, unorganised fashion.

At Parumdumpara, from where you can glimpse breathtaking scenes of greenery, one comes across a jeep-full of drunken people who are not just a nuisance with their screaming and loud music but also break bottles on the rocks, making the place dangerous for families headed there for a quiet retreat. Little surprise then that the family I accompanied on this trip promised never to return here.

With Kottayam as base camp, there are several wonderful destinations to head to, all just hours away from each other. The picturesque grass mounds of Vagamon are an example, but here again there is no semblance of security or police to guard against unruly elements.

In a country teeming with tourist haunts, the absence of adequate, nay basic, amenities is an all too common pitfall. Try getting a vehicle to ferry you from Hyderabad station, or go around Delhi or Jaipur’s tourist locations. One doesn’t really feel safe. Look at how historical monuments are run down in Delhi or how a sprawling natural park with leopards on the fringes of Mumbai becomes a point of man-animal conflict.

Compare this with Singapore’s parks and night safaris, a ride to Stonehenge or Bath in the UK, the experience atop South Africa’s Table Mountain or even Amsterdam’s red-light areas, where families can walk through without any sense of danger or awkwardness. The contrast is all too glaring.

Authorities here will have to do much more to make tourist destinations safe and hospitable, to give travellers that incredible feeling of all that is India!

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