KOCHI: The alleged professional animosity amongst tour operators is playing spoilsport for students and teachers going on study tours to other states.
In one recent incident, students and teachers of a school in Angamaly on a trip to Kodaikanal had a harrowing time after the tour operator failed to ensure proper accommodation and make adequate arrangements for them.
The management and Parents Teachers Association of SNDP School, Angamaly, submitted a written complaint before the Ernakulam Rural police chief on Thursday, saying that a group of 135 students and teachers had left for Kodaikanal in the early hours of November 1.
“We left early morning and reached Kodaikanal in the evening. Our accommodation had been fixed there. However, the tour operator failed to provide the stay, and all of us were made to travel to Ooty the same night after DJ party and food. We reached Ooty on November 2 early morning. All of us, including students, were made to travel the high terrains without proper rest and sleep for nearly two days and nights,” the authorities said in the complaint.
Moreover, the students and teachers could not visit major tourist spots in Ooty owing to the Diwali holiday rush. The team returned to Kerala on November 3.
The school had booked the trip with Angamaly-based Green Kerala Holidays at Rs 2,800 per person. Proprietor of the firm Alex Antony told TNIE that the unfortunate incident took place due to professional animosity between tour operators.
“I have been operating the firm for 15 years. This is the first time such an incident has taken place. We normally make all the arrangements at the destinations with the support of local residents. However, in this case, our local person deserted us and didn’t even respond to our panicked calls during and after the incident. Now, our reputation is at stake,” said Antony, who has decided to approach the tour operators association and the police for a proper solution.
He alleged that a tour operator who lost the bid for the school trip played behind the scenes. “The school has to pay me about Rs 1 lakh for the previous trip. So, I won’t make such a mistake deliberately,” Antony said, adding: “It is sad that some operators are endangering students for a few hundreds of rupees.”
Other schools based in Aluva, Angamaly and Thrissur reported facing similar experiences in the recent past.