Nilgiris district administration urged to cancel summer festivals due to water shortage

Coonoor Consumer Protection Association urges cancellation of summer festivals in Udhagamandalam due to water crisis and tourism impact.

The Coonoor Consumer Protection Association has urged the Nilgiris district administration to cancel the summer tourist festival season due to the impending water crisis that has already begun affecting residents of the district’s major towns.

In a letter to the Nilgiris district collector, M. Aruna, S. Manogaran, president of the association, questioned the rationale of hosting summer festivals, including the flower show, rose show and fruit show in a year where local residents are facing water shortages.

He said the towns of Udhagamandalam and Coonoor in particular, apart from already facing water shortages, was also being negatively impacted by unrestricted tourism. “With the High Court also mandating e-passes for entry of vehicles, the district administration should also consider cancelling the summer festival shows this year,” he said to The Hindu.

Mr. Manogaran said the drought this year should be considered an emergency and that the summer festivals should be cancelled to decrease tourist numbers this year. He added that the towns’ infrastructure was also unprepared to handle the number of vehicles that make their way into the Nilgiris during the peak summer season.

According to latest estimates, out of the total of ten water sources that supply Udhagamandalam town with drinking water, most are running empty, with only 28 percent of water out of the total storage capacity available for supplying drinking water for residents.