Kalpetta: The Greens and the tourism industry here have locked horns over opening the Kuruva Islands, the ecologically sensitive biodiversity zone, for tourists as the season is set to start after the monsoon. The tourism spot had been closed down for the last many months as the islets were inundated during the monsoon. It may be recalled that the Greens and the forest department have been demanding setting up a filtering system to reduce the flow of tourists to the spot. All the major locations of Wayanad, including Edakkal caves, Pookkot lake and Chembra peak are facing acute tourist pressure.
Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithy secretary Thomas Ambalavayal told DC that the forest department should regulate the flow of tourists to such a rare biodiversity spot. "Our destinations are gradually being ruined due to human pressure," he added. However, the forest department is on with measures to set up an online reservation facility for tourists. South Wayanad DFO Abdul Azeez told DC that Kuruva Islands would not be opened without bringing up a state-of-the-art online facility. "Moves are also afoot to assess the carrying capacity of the zone and also to set the limits for the number of tourists to be allowed to the destination on a day," he added.
Industry players pointed out that the area was open to tourists only for a small period. Mr K.P. Ramakrishnan, a hotel owner, said that from June to October, it would be closed due to monsoon and for the safety of visitors. "In summer, it would be closed citing the possibility of wildfires," he added. District collector S. Suhas supported the demand to reduce the tourist arrivals. "The flow should be controlled not only at Kuruva, but also at all ecologically sensitive destinations of the district," he said.
