Madikeri: Kodagu was acclaimed as one of the best tourist spots in the country till a few months back.  But tourism in the hilly district seems to have been hit hard without much visitors to the spots after the recent devastation.

As many as 18 lakh footfalls had been registered at the tourist spots of the district in the first half of this year going by official figures. Tourism took a severe beating since August. The devastating floods and landslides have discouraged visitors from thronging the tourist spots. Only a few, majority of them youths, are visiting Dubare Elephant Camp, Cauvery Nisargadhama, Raja Seat, Abbey Falls, Irupu Falls,  Mallalli Falls, Harangi Reservoir and other tourist destinations.

The disaster tourism has taken over and visitors are now being taken to have a look at the tragic spots which have rendered the inhabitants homeless and landless. The influx of nature-loving tourists during weekends is not much to be seen these days.

People, who were operating home stays and others who depended upon tourism for their livelihood after investing lakhs of rupees, have been badly affected without any business in recent days. A majority of hotel and home stay owners, who had employed hundreds of workers, have sent them back to their native.

Few footfalls in Raja Seat

The Raja Seat, which is a must-see spot, has had only a few footfalls in the past few days. As many as 5,000 visitors  went to this spot daily, according to official records. During weekends, the number of visitors used to swell but now the number has dwindled to a mere 50 daily.

“I had seen the pictures of various areas of Kodagu submerged in water and fully covered with mud heaps due to landslides in social networking sites. But now, I realised the extent of damage occurred after seeing the spots in person. The whole village has been destroyed by landslides in some places. I never imagined that Kodagu would witness such a devastating tragedy,” said Malini from Puttur.   

The hills cracked and crumbled while the rivers swallowed everything on its way — century-old houses, brand new home stays, tiny tea shops, lush green paddy fields, vast swathes of coffee plantations, forests, livestock, bridges and vehicles.

Incessant rains submerged low-lying areas in Kushalnagar, Somwarpet and Madikeri, pilgrimage centres like Talacauvery and Bhagamandala, and major bridges like Bethri, while landslides turned National Highways into death traps.  

People from outstation destinations are now making a beeline to have a look at those calamity-ravaged sites in north Kodagu.

Sadly, disaster tourism, which was unheard of so far, seems to be thriving in this district. But the hilly district hopes to improve on tourism with the commencement of Dasara festivities. Speaking to Star of Mysore, Santhosh from Kumta in Uttara Kannada District, who came along with his family, said he was aghast to see the damaged sites in Kodagu during his recent visit as the damage was beyond  one’s imagination.