Spl enterance for phy.challanged at lake
A ramp under construction at the Ooty Lake.A week or 10 days from now, physically challenged persons, the old and the infirm can enjoy the Ooty Lake from close quarters thanks to the move of the Boat House authorities to provide a barrier-free facility.Since many among the lakhs of tourists from various parts of the country and abroad who visited the lake were either suffering from physical disabilities or unable to walk to the lake from the parking lot, the provision of a ramp had been a long felt-need.Work on forming a ramp at Rs. 4 lakh under the Hill Area Development Programme was nearing completion, said G.K. Raveendran, manager of the Boat House here on Saturday. It would be thrown open soon, he added.In order to shield the tourists interested in horse riding from rain and sun, a shelter was being erected at Rs. 3 lakh inside the special enclosure meant for horse rides near the lake, he said. Work on providing canopies for jetties would commence after September, he added.Pointing out that the inclement weather had hit the inflow of visitors to the lake over the last few weeks, Mr. Raveendran said that there was a marginal improvement on Saturday.
Welcoming the steps taken to provide a ramp, G. Kishore in-charge of catering and recreation at the Boat House, said that it had been a major shortcoming. The lake had of late started attracting different classes of tourists.Though normally the period June 15 to July end was dull, this year it had been unusually dull on account of the weather. The inflow was likely to pick up around the middle of August and remain steady till November. He hoped that efforts would be made to provide better amenities here particularly roads.
