Recently, I visited Ooty, Tamil Nadu and I was honestly mesmerised with the beauty of the place. The most memorable thing for me the night bus journey from Ooty to Bangalore under the beautiful and bright full moon. We drove through the thick eucalyptus forest, in between tea estates peeped in too, the bright full moon was elevating the glistening effect on us.
But at the same time, I was sad to see how the hill stations of India are in danger. I’m sure many of you are aware of the Joshimath sinking news which was all over the social media and various digital news platforms. Eventually, it became a national disaster topic which needs to be discussed and resolved very soon, in order to save Joshimath and the adjacent areas too. While I was strolling various places in Ooty, I too felt the same.
Some related blog post links:
— https://worshipveganism.wordpress.com/2023/02/22/how-to-be-a-climate-conscious-traveler/
— https://worshipveganism.wordpress.com/2023/02/04/list-of-industries-with-highest-carbon-emission/
— https://worshipveganism.wordpress.com/2022/03/09/carbon-negative-nations/
— https://worshipveganism.wordpress.com/2022/01/07/top-5-carbon-footprint-producing-countries-in-the-world/
What I didn’t like in Ooty?
1. Everywhere I saw how the hills next to the roads are being cut. This is disastrous in the long term. The soil gets loose and starts to slide down, which also increases the risk of landslide. Around some of the tea estates, I saw the roots of the tea plants are popping out next to the roads, as the soil are being cut through.
2. While I visited Ooty Lake, I saw the JCB machines and the raw materials for construction. The place itself is so beautiful and vibrant, I didn’t see any reason to do any sort of construction out there.
3. At many places in Ooty, I noticed the expansion of the roads. The roads are really good. I had been to many North Indian hill stations in the past, and I can assure that the Ooty roads are much better than North Indian hill stations. But I don’t know why are the expanding the width of the roads, which are already in much better shape.
What I liked in Ooty?
1. The city is very green and the local people try to maintain the greenery out there a lot.
2. Plastics are strictly banned out there. So you won’t find drinking water/mineral water in plastics bottles. Drinking mineral water is available only in glass bottles. So those bottles can easily be processed and won’t add much to the pollution of the town.
3. While I was near the Ooty Botanical Garden, in one single direction I could see a temple, a church and a masjid. I loved this synchronicity of religion and coziness among the local people. Nobody is interfering into each other’s religious sentiments and all are living happily there.
4. People in Ooty generally eat the locally cultivated green vegetables. Carrots, English cucumber, beetroot and radish are the most popular ones there which local farmer grows in abundance. Mostly, these vegetables are organic, so you can be rest assured that you are eating organic and unadulterated vegetables.
5. The eucalyptus forest is well maintained over there. There’s no such risk of stealing and cutting the trees as such. So the beauty of the town is well maintained. The pollution level is low and specially the soil of Ooty is favourable for farming.
Conclusion:
I personally don’t enjoy seeing the construction going on in the green valleys. People generally visit these hill stations to devour the mother nature’s beauty and spend a good vacation for few days. But commercialisation of these hill stations is not a good thing I fee. When I visited Vrindavan Garden (Mysore) I was stunned to see so many resorts around the garden. Whereas, a decade and half ago these resorts didn’t even exist over there. My simple point here is, why this has to be a political agenda and why do they need to make it a huge source of income.
Tourism itself is a big sector everywhere in the hill stations in India, but turning these places into a deep cradle of money is not a right thing. We are harming the places, local people of the places, our country and the planet too. And in the long run, these places will be fully destroyed and won’t be able to attract tourists. So instead of increasing the noise and construction, the government should maintain the greenery and the ecstasy of the place as it is.
P.S — All the photos in this blog post are from my own collection.
Unfortunately, usually the next phase of ‘development’ is that the local people are themselves displaced in order to create a purpose-built resort for the wealthy.
Yes I truly agree with you 😊