Ooty season comes to end
Ooty:A regular sight near Charing Cross in Udhagamandalam during the season.With the advent of the southwest monsoon, the 2007 summer tourist season came to an end in this hill station.A majority of visitors are bidding adieu to this holiday destination, though tourists are trickling by buses, vans and cars. However, summer activities at the Ooty Race Course are yet to conclude.According to popular belief, the Annual Floral Carnival marks the end of the season. Coinciding with the conclusion of the season, a review of its plus and minus points is being done.Speaking here on Friday, people of various sections said a feature of the season, likely to endure in the memory of tourists and the local people for a long time, was the chaotic conditions on main roads due to frequent traffic snarls.Pointing out that with proper planning could have avoided the situation, they felt that it was time competent persons were brought here to draw up a proper traffic management plan. On the one hand, the number of tourist vehicles and those owned by the residents has increased considerably, on the other, development of infrastructure vis-a-vis roads and footpaths has not been commensurate.
On the contrary, roads particularly the highway connecting Mettupalayam and Gudalur has never been as bad as it is now. Since footpaths were either in an appalling state or encroached up on by roadside shops and pavement hawkers, pedestrians were forced to walk on the road.This coupled with the size of many of the cars and haphazard parking added to the confusion.Since the traffic police had to be drafted for other duties, including providing security to VIPs, often it was a free for all on the main roads.
Stating that traffic related complaints were many during the season, the Secretary, Nilgiri Hotels and Restaurants Association (NHRA), N. Chandrashekar, hoped that the authorities concerned would treat them as an eye opener. A police officer also said that a permanent traffic management plan could not be delayed further. Parking space especially during weekends was woefully inadequate, he said.
Emphasising the need for firm steps to tackle the traffic-related problems, he said if those at the helm of affairs try to please all sections, the situation would deteriorate.Meanwhile, the residents said that the vast multitude of people that one witnessed on certain days, including those of the Floral Carnival, cannot be taken as evidence of a successful and busy season, since a sizable part of them belonged to the `self-cooking, whistle stop' category from different parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring States.While their contribution to the economy of the district was either nil or negligible, they put enormous pressure on the infrastructure.Nilgiris Collector Santosh K.Misra said ways to promote high quality tourism should be evolved.
