Prolonged dry spell casts doom on tourism business in Hogenakkal

COIMBATORE: Prolonged dry spell has spelt doom on the livelihood of hundreds of oarsmen in Hogenakkal in the Dharmapuri district. The coracle operators have been rendered jobless as the gushing waterfalls has reduced into a trickle and Riverr Cauvery has become barren with exposed rocks. As a result, more than 400 oarsmen are facing challenging times as they are unable to eke out a living because of lack of water.

“Never before, the coracle operators have stayed off work for so long because of insufficient water. Even though coracles could be operated in some patches of stagnating water, it is pointless as tourists may not be able to enjoy the scenic beauty and all that is visible is only rocks. In the previous years, the coracle operations were suspended because of flooding issues,” said M Kempuraj, former president of Anna Coracle Operators Welfare Association in Hogenakkal.

It has been two months since March that coracle operations remain suspended due to lack of water.“A minimal number of tourists arrive to bathe in scanty waters that pour out in the falls. This is the peak season as usually up to 50,000 tourists arrive at the falls daily during the months of April and May. Now, just a few hundreds of tourists come and they leave after a bath,” he added.

For a ride in the gushing waters, a family of four with a child is charged Rs 1,500 as charge. Of this, Rs 200 is for the administration, while the remaining amount is for oarsmen. They operate on a turn basis with every coracle operator getting one or two rides depending on the crowd. Suspension of coracle operations is also a major revenue loss to the government.

However, the onset of summer rains has raised a glimmer of hope for the 2000-odd families eking out a living out of the tourism sector in Hogenakkal.

“Rains have begun to pour out on and off in Hogenakkal over the last two days and as well as in some catchment areas of Karnataka. It has given us some hope that the situation will soon resume normal by a week or so,” said S Rejndran, an oarsman.

Coracle oarsmen seek compensation from govt for no-job days

Rendered jobless for more than two months, the hundreds of oarsmen, who were left without any alternative source of income have demanded compensation from the government.

“Just like the fishermen who are given financial aid during the ban period, the oarsmen should also be compensated on no job days. It has been our long time demand. Most of us have spent our little savings and are unable to meet even our basic expenses. Our desperate wait to resume work once water arrives is growing longer,” said M Kempuraj.

The oarsmen inherited this job from their ancestors. “It has been our demand that Rs 5,000 should be given as monthly compensation for each of the registered oarsmen during such a long number of jobless days due to natural calamity. Many of the oarsmen and their families are now surviving with the rations given by the government,” said S Durairaj, a coracle operator.

Besides them, there are around 350 masseurs, over 300 women cooks and 200 shops in the Hogenakkal area. “I serve homely fish curry meals for tourists visiting the Hogenakkal falls. I get upto Rs 1,000 per day depending on the menu and crowd. But the ban has left us without any source of income,” said R Mutharasi from Indira Nagar.

The 2,000-odd families, dependent on the tourism sector in Hogenakkal, were all early settlers from Salem, before carving out of Dharmapuri district, when the construction of Mettur reservoir commenced in 1924.