The Forest and Wildlife Department is preparing to close ecotourism centres in Wayanad district for a short while to ensure trouble-free movement of migrating wild animals and to avert the outbreak of forest fires.
Ecotourism centres at Muthanga and Tholpetty in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary will be closed to visitors from Sunday following high fire risk. The ecotourism centres under the North Wayanad forest division have already been closed since February 10. “Scanty summer showers and dried vegetation have heightened the fire risk in most protected areas of the district, especially the forest areas adjacent to the tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka,” North Wayanad Divisional Officer Ramesh Bishnoi told The Hindu.
Restriction on tourism activities and curbs on visitors had been enforced at the four ecotourism centres under the North Wayanad Forest Division, including Chirappullu near Vellamunda, Meenmutty waterfalls near Makkiyad, Brahmagiri near Thirunelly, and Muneeswaran Kunnu near Thalapuzha, to minimise risk of fire, said Mr. Bishnoi. The centres would remain closed to tourists till the forest fire risk subsided, he added.
The Soochipara waterfalls, Kuruva islets on the Kabani, Chembra peak, and the Meenmutty waterfalls at Padinharethara, under the South Wayanad forest division have been closed for past one year as per a direction of the Kerala High Court.
The ecotourism centres under the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary will be closed from March 1 to April 15 as per the direction of the Principal Chief Forest Conservator (Wildlife), said sanctuary warden P.K. Asiff. The restriction had been imposed considering security reasons and to ensure trouble-free migration of animals, he added.
“Seasonal wildlife migration from the nearby Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu to the sanctuary has increased considerably owing to the dry spell in those regions,” said Mr. Assif. The Department had made highly structured measures to ensure the availability of fodder and water and protection measures for migrating animals, he added.
