DHARMAPURI: Dharmapuri Collector K Santhi on Wednesday isued an order lifting the ban on tourism in Hogenakkal after water level in the Cauvery river reduced to 20,000 cusecs. The ban was imposed 15 days ago when water flow reached 1,85,000 cusecs.
Hogenakkal is one of the most famous tourist spots in Dharmapuri district. On an average weekend nearly 3,000 tourists visit the place. However because of the repeated flooding in Hogenakkal, tourism has been suspended multiple times leading to repeated closures. Residents point out that in 2022 alone tourism had to be suspended for five months because of flooding causing them several financial loss.
S Sureshkumar, a shopkeeper from Hogenakkal said, “During the South West monsoon Hogenakkal was closed for public for nearly three months as water level reached 2 lakh cusecs. Similarly there were three other instances where tourism activities were suspended because of flooding. In the brief period that the ban was lifted between August and September, the damage were extensive causing tourism to be reduced. So our losses this time were huge.”
S Prabhu, a coracle operator with the Boatman and Cooks Association in Hogenakkal said, “This year tourism has taken a severe hit. Because of the flooding, we could not fish in the Cauvery or accommodate tourists. Now the ban has been lifted, and we hope the situation will be stable.”
Officials in the Pennagaram Block Development Office said, “The recent flooding did not cause any damage to the tourist areas. Usually coracle operation would resume when water level falls below 15,000 cusecs. Though the curent level is 20,000 cusecs, the flow is rapidly declining. That is why tourism activities were allowed.”