OOTY: Forest officials in the hills should take steps to check tourists trying to venture down the rocks for a bath in the Kallhatti waterfalls along the Ooty - Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, as whirlpools present there, has already proved to be dangerous.
A couple of incidents related to the drowning of tourists in the Kallhatti waterfalls about five years ago, forced foresters to prohibit tourists from trekking down to the falls. But of late, one can see tourists somehow managing to sneak down the Kallhatti slopes from the Kallhatti checkpost area, to reach the waterfalls and swim the pool of water at the base of the falls.
Tourists may not be aware of the danger in the pool as water current there is a whirlpool, often subjecting swimmers to risk. It is high time that foresters take necessary steps to post forest watchers at necessary points to prohibit tourists going near the falls.
