The Hindu : Ooty tea festival may give a boost to industry

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Ooty tea festival may give a boost to industry

By D. Radhakrishnan

UDHAGAMANDALAM, JAN. 17. Tourism activities in this holiday destination will begin with the Tea and Tourism Festival-2004 next month.

With the tea industry struggling to stay afloat amid problems, the festival will help the sector gain mileage, officials sources told .

The participation of the United Planters Association of Southern India, the Tea Board, the Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation and the Indcoserve (apex body of the Industrial Cooperative tea factories) along with leading tea producers and those manufacturing organic and value added tea would be ensured.

Meanwhile, with the summer tourist season a couple of months away, various sections point out that the hill station is wearing a `shabby look'. While roads are in a deplorable condition, political parties and some other organisations are disfiguring walls with impunity.

Sections in the travel and tourism industry and citizens say that only if steps are initiated on a war-footing can Udhagamandalam be made "presentable" by the middle of March.

The Nilgiris Collector, K. Sellamuthu, said the Udhagamandalam-Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway would be improved before the commencement of the season.

Floral carnival

Preparations have begun for the annual floral carnival in the Government Botanical Gardens. The manager, N. Mani, said planting was in progress and would be completed by February-end. Among the seedlings were many from Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. Work on getting over 10,000 potted plants was also apace.

Though water supply was not a source of serious concern in the garden, a few good showers before April would help.

As for the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, the Wildlife Warden, Ashok Upretti, said "right now there is no problem with the storage in the Ombetta and Game Hut reservoirs and the northeast checkdam being comfortable."

However, smaller ponds are drying up and the flow in the rivers dropped. A decision on closure of the sanctuary would be taken by month-end. In view of dry conditions, precautions against jungle fires have been taken. Apart from manning strategic points, fire watchers were patrolling the highway cutting through the sanctuary to prevent roadside blaze spreading.

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