Kodagu is safe and tourists can visit their favourite destination without any fear – is the message that the hospitality sector in the land of coffee is circulating in various platforms, including social media, after some tourists gave up the idea of holidaying in Kodagu following reports on travel advisory issued ahead of the monsoon.

The directive from a village panchayat for halting homestay bookings was restricted to one particular area and not to entire Kodagu. Yet, misinformation led to cancellation of bookings in other places, according to the stakeholders.

The directive from the PDO of Makkandur Gram Panchayat perturbed the stakeholders of tourism, which, after a gap of many months, is returning to normalcy. Tourism had taken a beating after the devastating floods and landslides last year.

Out of 13 “highly vulnerable” locations identified on the possibility of landslides during the monsoon, seven come under the limits of Makkandur GP. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the owners of the homestays coming in the GP limits were asked not to take reservations for the next three months. The order applied only to homestays in Makkandur.

“But what was being projected is that the entire Kodagu is unsafe and therefore tourists must stay away from visiting the hill station. This misinformation affected the tourism industry as the occupancy rate in hotels and resorts decreased suddenly with unease among visitors,” said B.R. Nagendra Prasad, President, Kodagu Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants’ Association. The PDO’s order was misinterpreted. The directive is limited to the GP limits but it was being generalised and created a feeling that it is risky to visit Kodagu now, he told The Hindu.

Tourists cancel bookings
Mr. Prasad, who met Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy along with other members of the association on Monday over problems plaguing the tourism sector, said many tourists cancelled their bookings and returned to their destinations apparently over the fear being spread over their safety in Kodagu.

“The occupancy in hotels and resorts which was around 80 per cent during weekdays and 100 per cent during the weekends since the second week of April went down suddenly. If negative propaganda about Kodagu continues, tourism will be badly affected,” he observed.

Mr. Prasad said “it took us many months to restore confidence in tourists and bring them back.If such negative campaigns continue, it will hit Kodagu’s economy.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – June 04th, 2019

Kodagu administration holds interaction with families that are not keen to move into houses being built by government.

Residents, whose houses were destroyed in last year’s landslips in Kodagu and are keen to reconstruct on the original site or a place of their choice, have been advised to ascertain if the place is safe for reconstruction.

The Kodagu district administration on Thursday held an interactive meeting with 54 such families who were not keen to move into the houses constructed by the government as part of its rehabilitation efforts.

The families were keen to build the houses at their place of choice or the original site. The government is chipping in with ₹9.85 lakh per house which is also the cost of each unit constructed by the government.

Additional Deputy Commissioner P. Shivaraj said many families had lost their houses during the calamity last year, all of whom were being rehabilitated. “But there are 54 families who wanted to build the houses on their own for which ₹2 lakh per family had been released in the first phase.”

He said the construction should be as per the specifications of the government and the beneficiaries should first ascertain if the site was suitable for construction. The balance amount would be released in a phase-wise manner based on the progress of work.

Assistant Commissioner T. Javare Gowda said the house should be at least 5.75 squares and the plot should be in the name of the beneficiary. He said the construction should follow the specified quality norms and clearance from the respective gram panchayats would be procured within a week.

However, the residents seeking to construct their own houses categorically stated that it would not be possible to complete the construction within the next four months as sought by the officials. With the onset of monsoon just a week away construction work was bound to be affected and hence the residents sought additional time for completing the construction.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Corrrespondent / Mysuru – May 31st, 2019