Towns wear deserted look as Nilgiris closes to tourists
The Hindu
The tourist towns of Udhagamandalam, Coonoor and Kotagiri were practically empty of visitors as most left ahead of Tuesday’s restrictions
Popular tourist towns across the Nilgiris wore a deserted look on Tuesday as the district closed to tourists, in line with the State’s COVID-19 restrictions. Popular parks and gardens across the Nilgiris, including the Government Botanical Garden in Udhagamandalam, the Rose Garden, the arboretum, as well as the Sims Park and Kattery Park in Coonoor, were all closed to tourists.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












