Poor amenities plague Puliancholai

TIRUCHIPuliancholai, a popular picnic spot with scenic beauty, lacks basic amenities and safety measures for visitors.

Puliancholai, a verdant and popular picnic spot on the foothills of Kollimalai in the district, continues to languish without proper amenities.

Situated near Thuraiyur, about 70 km away from Tiruchi, Puliancholai is known for its scenic beauty, given the green cover of tamarind groves and paddy fields around. The stream that runs down the hills attracts a large number of picnickers from Tiruchi and neighbouring districts, especially during weekends and holidays. The water flow in the stream is good during rains, offering a natural bathing area for visitors. But access to the stream remains difficult given the rugged terrain full of rocks and stones. One has to trek along the stream for some distance on the hills to choose a spot to take a dip.

While the Pachaperumalpatti panchayat collects an entry-cum-parking fee for vehicles, the Forest Department levies a separate entry fee for visitors as one begins the climb. Yet, basic amenities are poor – even toilets and drinking water facilities. Nor are there change rooms for visitors to safely change their clothes after bathing in the stream. Consequently, visitors, including women, are forced to take cover behind trees or rocks to change. A cloak roam constructed by the Tourism Department remains locked. Not far away, a children’s park lies in ruin.

“We have been representing the need for providing proper amenities to visitors to Puliancholai for nearly a decade now. Basic needs such as toilets, drinking water supply, change rooms and a cloak room are essential and immediate requirements. There are no information or signboards to guide visitors to the spot,’ says N. Saravanan, a resident of Thuraiyur.

Visitors also complain that the spot does not even have a decent restaurant. Vendors sell eatables kept in the open under unhygienic conditions and vie for space with each other to attract buyers. Visitors want the district authorities to rope in women/tribal self-help groups to run a small restaurant.

Both the Tiruchi district administration and the Tourism Department have been promising major improvements at Puliancholai and Pachamalai, both situated close to Thuraiyur, but the works have not started yet.

As the spot is situated on the border of Tiruchi and Namakkal districts, the authorities often pass the buck from one to the other, complains Mr. Saravanan.