Valparai yearns for a new identity

Valparai: With nothing to cheer from the tea industry, the people of Valparai are yearning for the state government to initiate tourism projects.

Officially not declared as a hill station, Valparai is located above the 3,500 feet from the sea level on the Anamalai mountain range. With 41 tea estates surrounding the town and nearly 55,000 workers working there, Valparai’s economy is heavily dependent on the well being of the tea industry.

With the domestic tea industry finding the market (domestic and exports) tough, the workers are experiencing the cascading effects — reduction in wages, earnings linked to leaf plucking, reduction in casual labour employment. This in turn is having its impact on the town’s economy. “Business is not as it used to be two years ago,” complains a grocery shop owner.

Speaking of tourist attractions, the 64-km drive from Pollachi to Valparai is itself an exotic experience. En route is the Indira Gandhi Wild Life Sanctuary where lion-tailed macaque, the Nilgiri and the common langur, Malabar giant squirrel, elephant, gaur, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer and wild boar reside.

From Valparai one can visit the Aliyar, Sholaiyar and Nirar dams. Tunnels bored into the mountains and canals to harness the water from Parambikulam, Aliyar, Nirar, Sholaiyar, Thunakadavu, Thekkadi and Palar rivers for irrigation and power generation interconnect these.

The unique grass forests, Grass Hills, is also located near Valparai. The hill sports tall grass and houses elephants, boars, cheetah and other wild animals. In addition one can drive around the mountain tea estates enjoying the pleasant climate and forget the once dense forest that have paved the way for tea bushes.

But this alone is not sufficient to lure tourists. “ For tourists, a hill station should have a lake for boating, good hotels and roads,” remarks Valparai panchayat chairman Selvi Vijayarajan.

A proposal to build a new road to Pollachi through reserved forest areas has been shot down by the forest department, as it would affect the ecological balance.

However Vijayarajan is not in favour of the road project. “The road may reduce the travel distance and time between Valparai and Pollachi but does not offer as much sightseeing potential. In the long term, the existing route would fall under disuse and tourists will lost interest in Valparai,” she warns.

The development of Valparai as a vibrant tourist destination is also constrained by absence of free hold land for building hotels and other support infrastructure as the mountains are owned/leased by the tea companies and good part of land declared a forest reserve. Further most of the view spots and waterfalls are located inside the estates.

According to executive officer K Saleem, a proposal to build a boating lake in Valparai, and having roadside amenities near Attakatti awaits the state government’s sanction. Sensing the changing mood, the only decent hotel in the town Green Hill Hotel is in the process of expansion.