Protest raised against ‘attempts to portray Sarovaram Biopark as a den of anti-socials’

Locals protest vloggers' attempts to portray Sarovaram Biopark as immoral. This has led to a drop in family visitors. Authorities must identify and take legal action against these content creators. Anti-social elements have been addressed by security guards and police. Surveillance cameras and security systems should be installed to identify those damaging the destination's image.

Members of local travellers’ clubs and tourists’ collectives here have expressed strong protest over attempts of a section of vloggers and social media influencers to portray the city’s popular Sarovaram Biopark as a den of anti-socials for immoral activities.

This portrayal through YouTube and other social media accounts have resulted in a huge drop in the number of family visitors to the spot.

“Some vloggers are cooking up stories to spoil the image of the destination and treat people who visit the spot as anti-socials. Though their prime aim is to increase the reach of their channels, the fabricated content is damaging the fame of the spot,” said Manu V. Kumar, member of a travellers’ club in the city. He added that there are no efforts on the part of the authorities to identify such campaigners and initiate legal action.

Some of the regular visitors to the biopark said that the majority of these content creators are from other districts who come to the spot after watching this false content on social media.

“Social media vigilantes are also active to malign the image of the location,” said N.C. Binujtith, a college student in the city. He said that the fake propagation have even influenced parents and teachers.

Residents association members in the area pointed out that the troubles created by anti-social elements during the initial days of the park’s opening have already been addressed by security guards and plainclothesmen from nearby police stations. “It is because of the popularity of the destination that the State government recently sanctioned a huge fund for its further development and it should not be allowed to spoil under the mudslinging campaign,” they said.

Bibin Mathew, a tourism entrepreneur in the city, said that a few visitors are also part of the campaign to damage the image of the destination by secretly capturing images and videos of other visitors and circulating it. Such persons should be identified with a better network of surveillance cameras and security systems, he said.