Jul 03, 2002 06:48 AM
10175 Views
(Updated Jul 06, 2002 07:53 AM)
I had the privilege to visit this beautiful wildlife sanctuary in Kerala no less than six times over the years. A boat ride in the beautiful lake, with towering forests and huge rolling hills on either side is unforgettable. From the boat, you can see numerous animals on the plains and near the water. The Periyar Tiger Reserve gets visitors from around the world. It is easily accessable from Kottayam, or from the Cochin International airport.
Towards the end of April 2002, I visited Periyar again. It was a 4 hr. drive from Kottayam through good paved roads. After checking into Hotel Ambadi, we went to the lake for a boat ride. Immediately I noticed the big change in the landscape. The lake seemed to have disappeared! Years of drought had drained the lake drastically. The boat jetty in front of the Aranya Nivas hotel was no longer functioning. We were asked to walk about 2 kilometers under the hot sun, and through barren land once covered in water. There were signs of the elephants in the vicinity, for we had seen piles of elephant dungs scattered throughout. I thought it was very irresponsible for the Kerala Forest department to let the people walk through this area without being escorted by armed guards.
After the long walk, we found that there was no boat to take us. Finally after an hour, an old clunker arrived, packed us inside like sardines in a tin, took a quick round and dropped us off, all in one hour. This was supposed to be a two hour ride. But it is the union, that is in control of Kerala now, the government seemed to be helpless!!
Next morning we went back to the same area, but not for the boat ride. Just to walk around and to enjoy the nature a bit. I wanted to see if I could identify the various trees in the forest, as it had been a very long time since I left the Forest service. To my surprise, I identified each and every tree without difficulty. After enough excercise, we decided to have breakfast at the Aranya Nivas Restaurant where we had stayed and dined years before.Their meals were excellent and the menu had a variety of dishes for you to choose.However, when we entered the restaurant, there was no one. It was about 9 a.m. A few minutes later someone came out from inside the kitchen and seated us. The menu listed dosai, idli, sambar, chutney, puri,lamb chops, mutton curry, omelette and so on. But the waiter apologised and informed us that only puri was available that morning. They no longer offered a full menu, as the traffic had been drastically down since the 9/11 attacks on the world centre. The religious tension in Gujarat and the border tension between India and Pakistan didn't help the matter either.
That same afternoon, a herd of angry elephants attacked the tourists while walking through the dry river bed to get into a boat.Men, women and children ran in all directions and a few got hurt. It was reported in ''The Hindu'' a popular south Indian English daily, the next day.
From there, by travelling north we visited the Silent Valley wildlife and the Parambikulam wildlife Sanctuaries. These two areas have beautiful evergreen forests and an abundant wildlife, including the elusive tiger.
''Kerala'' means the land of coconuts, and I was surprised to see many coconut trees were being cut down to make room for mango trees. ''The union people are demanding 20 rupees and two coconuts from each tree they climb to cut the coconuts down. We get 2 rupees for a coconut and it is hardly you get more that 5 to 8 coconuts from each tree, and therefore there is no sense in having them'' One man said. I have also noticed thousands of acres of barren land. They were
once flourishing paddy fields. ''Same problem'' the man says ''the labourers with the support of the union is demanding hefty wages that no one could afford to pay. These former paddy fields will be eventually filled with soil and sell them to others to build houses''. It appears that it is impossible for small business to thrive there due to the labour problems. Kerala has a high unemployment rate. It is a politically hot seat and needs a strong stable government to tackle its current problems and bring the state back to normal. There are more political processions and meetings in Kerala every day,sometimes even blocking the traffic for lengthy periods, it should gain an entry in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as a vocal democratic state with most problems. The ''God's own country'' is now beginning to smell bad.
