Wayanad: The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) is all set to promote bamboo rafting and kayaking in the Kabani River around Kuruva Island to attract more tourists to the destination. The initiative is for reactivating the tourism industry in the region as the forest department had closed down Kuruva Island on directions from the High Court on February 17, this year. The closure has resulted in a dent in the revenue of local people who depend on the industry to eke out a living. A team of officials headed by District Collector Dr Renu Raj and DTPC secretary K G Ajesh visited the Kuruva islands recently to have an on-ground feel of the possibilities of bamboo rafting in the River Kabani around the island.
At present, bamboo rafts and wooden boats are used to ferry tourists to the island crossing the water body. With more custom-made rafts made available, tourists can sail around the island in the rafts on an hourly basis, thus exploring the serene nature in a better way, it was pointed out. After the visit, District Collector Dr Renu Raj told reporters that there are large numbers of tourists who love water sports including kayaking and rafting. “The Kuruva Islands are ideal for bamboo rafting, and there are many experts in bamboo rafting among the staff in the centre,” she said. “The vast as well as calm water body is ideal for bamboo rafting,” she added. “Being eco-friendly, there will not be any opposition from the forest department against inducting bamboo rafting in the ecologically sensitive water body,” she pointed out.
Project launch in the next season
The Kuruva Eco-tourism project is managed jointly by the forest department and DTPC. The District Collector also assured the women of Kudumbasree units of the locality who were employed in the project, that the district administration would ensure all steps for the opening of the tourism project. Kuruva can be accessed from both Mananthavadi and Pulppalli. DTPC member secretary KG Ajesh told media personnel that the DTPC would launch the project from the next tourism season soon after the monsoon. “Trials have been already on,” he said. The closure of the Kuruva Island for tourists has badly hit hundreds of families that depend on the tourism sector to eke out a living,” he pointed out.
Moves are afoot by the tourism fraternity and district administration to open Kuruva Island as there were sufficient summer rains in the forest regions of the district and the threat of wildlife attack is over. A protected river delta rich in flora and fauna, the Kuruva Island is a unique cluster of islets in River Kabani. The closure of the island was a sequel to the series of wildlife attacks on human beings and three deaths in a row that rocked the district in one month. V P Paul, an employee of the Kuruva Eco Development Committee, which manages the tourism activities under the forest department, was also killed in the attack of an elephant herd. Every year the forest department used to close down Kuruva Island during the peak of summer, for a few days as a pre-emptive measure to check the spread of forest fires."