Nine routes opened to trekkers

The Hindu : Life Coimbatore: "To ease the tourist pressure at the bio-diversity hot spot Top Slip, the Forest Department on Friday introduced nine trek routes at Amaravathy and Udumalpet ranges. All these nine routes fall under the Chinnar and Amaravathy reserve forests, close to Munnar in Kerala, has been classified red, orange, yellow and green depending on the distance and risk involved.

For stay in the forests, two watchtowers at Sarakkupatty and Kodandhur were opened by the Udumalpet MLA, C. Shanmugavelu, and Udumalpet R.G.M. School secretary, Nandhini Raveendran, on Friday. The Forest Department constructed the towers at a cost of Rs. 1.5 lakhs each. With this the number of anti-poaching towers has gone up to eight. Trekkers will be allowed to stay in all the eight towers along with tribals.

An entry fee of Rs. 15 and staying fee of Rs. 20 will be collected from the trekkers. Two tribal guides will help them and their fee will be Rs. 100 each per day. Trekkers should get permission from the wildlife warden's office at Pollachi to venture into the forests. A group of four persons is the minimum. This will provide a source of income to the tribal community, he added.

Apart from preparing route maps, the eco club of R.G.M. School has donated 17 signboards costing Rs. 40,000. Trekkers could have better animal sightings in this rich bio-diversity area of Chinnar. According to him this will benefit the department in conservation and anti-poaching besides providing employment to the tribals and making the trekkers messengers of conservation."