The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : City residents head for Ooty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 16, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

City residents head for Ooty

A. A. Michael Raj

Special bus arrangements throughout the day make the journey easy

OFF TO THE HILLS: Tourists bound for Udhagamandalam board a moffussil bus under the watchful eyes of a conductor and a policeman at the Gandhipuram Bus Stand in the city on Sunday. PhotO: S. Siva saravanan

COIMBATORE: City residents joined tourists from other districts in making the 90-km journey to Udhagamandalam for the ongoing annual summer festival, here on Sunday.

From the early hours of the day, tourists thronged the Gandhipuram moffussil bus stand from where the buses were leaving at frequent intervals for the hill stations in the Nilgiris.

A festival atmosphere prevailed, with children and adults carrying water bottles and bags, and talking animatedly among themselves while waiting for their turn to board the buses that would take them up the winding Ghat Road to Udhagamandalam.

Those who had come late and joined the tail end of the queue kept counting the number of those in line and trying to estimate the time by which they would be able to board a bus. Fried snacks and fruit juices were the popular items among the waiting passengers.

Despite pessimistic rumours now and then that the popular tourist haunts in the hill station would be overcrowded, passengers seemed to prefer looking on the optimistic side, hoping to enjoy the holiday despite the crowds and congestion.

Buses and other motor vehicles transported the majority of the tourists to the hills, because of the limited carrying capacity of the Niligiris Mountain Railway mini train that is a permanent tourist attraction, especially among visitors from other parts of the country.

With the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation having made special arrangements for uninterrupted movement of buses throughout the day, people were willing to wait in line for their turn without trying to jump the queue. Police personnel kept a watchful eye upon the tourists and regulated the crowd so that the queues kept moving smoothly.

Though Coimbatore has the reputation of experiencing an early `hot season' with frequent summer showers bringing down the heat, City residents experienced something of a shock this year when temperatures kept rising a couple of weeks ago with no sign of respite in the form of rain. Sultry days and high humidity in the City this year were two of the main reasons for whole families taking the chance to spend some time cooling off in the hill station even while entertaining themselves. During the last ten days, maximum temperatures ranged from 34 to 36 degrees Celsius, and minimum temperatures from 23 to 25 degrees Celsius.

Cultural extravaganza

At Udhagamandalam, the main attraction was the cultural extravaganza organised at the Hill Area Development Programme Sports Auditorium on Botanical Garden Road. This included traditional dances and folk songs, music concerts, talent displays by students and variety entertainment.

A few visitors were keen on making an early visit to the hill station, well before the Flower Show-2005 scheduled at the Botanical Gardens on May 21 and 22. Both days usually witness heavy tourist traffic, with people thronging the gardens to witness the flower arrangements.

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