NADAPURAM: Even as Thiriyakkayam, a waterfall in Vanimel panchayat, near here, is fast emerging as a picnic spot for domestic tourists, the potential of the spot remains untapped as the authorities concerned seem to be least interested in it.
The place is situated in the eleventh ward of the panchayt, 15 km from Nadapuram town on the Kallachi-Vilangad stretch. The fall is now flowing in full strength due to the monsoon.
Though there are no proper facilities there, many visitors from in and out of the district choose the spot to spend their leisure hours even during the summer season.
“After the recent rains, hundreds of people, especially college students, visited the place. Though the number of tourists visiting the spot is increasing day by day, there is no proper path to reach the falls. Now, tourists have to access the waterfall, trudging a gravel path,” local people say.
They say the spot has the potential to be developed into a rural tourism destination, but the Tourism Department is yet to take steps to promote the possibilities of the area. E K Vijayan MLA, when contacted, said there were a lot of unexploited tourism possibilities in the rural belt of the district, including Thiriyakkayam. “Earlier, a project had been planned, in association with the Vanimel panchyat, for the spot, but later it was dropped as it was not found to be feasible. Now, discussions are on with the Tourism Department for preparing a package for the development of the spot. “There is also a plan to set up a tourism circuit connecting the tourist places in the rural belt of the district. All steps will be taken to make the project a reality,” says the MLA.
Responding to the matter, DTPC secretary P G Rajeev says that the DTPC is considering a developmental package for the spot. As the initial step, the DTPC will visit the destination as part of the preparation of a project plan, which will be done within a month, he says.