The pleasures of visiting these popular spots were taken away due to the aggressive nature of locals who charged up to Rs. 1500 to ferry tourists to Mandalpatti.
Madikeri :
In order to curb exploitation of tourists by locals who were charging exorbitant charges to ferry them to Mandalpatti, the State Government has now made it mandatory for tourists to obtain permission from the forest department for entry to the Pushpagiri belt of Mandalpatti.
The pleasures of visiting these popular spots were taken away due to the aggressive nature of locals who charged up to Rs. 1500 to ferry tourists to Mandalpatti. While bus routes were drawn to this spot, it was not seen as a convenient option by many tourists who paid over Rs 1,500/- per jeep to reach Mandalpatti from nearly 14 kms away.
Be it one passenger or eight passengers, the charges per jeep remained the same.
This overcharging by locals had been brought to the notice of DC Sreevidya P I, who has laid down strict rules to control the menace.
A meeting was recently held by Sreevidya along with SP Rajendra Prasad who concluded that permissions need to be sought to enter the Pushpagiri belt of Mandalpatti. The DC has also ordered that the jeeps ferrying tourists will be brought under the scanner and Galibeedu village panchayat has been asked to install CCTV cameras at the premises.
No public or private vehicles will be allowed beyond the gates installed by the forest department at Mandalpatti; pedestrians and tourists could trek to the spot (after receiving permission) from the gate instead of travelling in vehicles.
The district administration has also drawn a maximum ferry charge of Rs 300/- per jeep and anyone demanding more money would not be allowed to function in the area.
The forest department is ordered to make sure that no plastic, liquour or other items are carried to the spot by the tourists. Offenders of these rules will be penalized by the Police Department’s Road Transport Authority.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Service / June 05th, 2018
