The narrow escape of around 200 people at the Thusharagiri waterfalls in Kozhikode a couple of days ago calls for a relook into the security arrangements at one of the most popular tourist destinations in the district.
Around 2,500 tourists had visited the destination this Wednesday and at least 100 of them were bathing in the waterfalls when security personnel noticed a change in water flow. They urged the tourists to move to a safer location and the flash flood happened within seconds.
It was just over a month ago that a college student from Beypore went missing near the waterfalls. His body was retrieved a day later. Two weeks before the incident, a young man had gone missing and was never found.
The recurring mishaps are weighing heavily on the prospects of Thusharagiri being a safe tourist destination, especially when Kodenchery panchayat, where the waterfalls are located, is making efforts to become a Responsible Tourism destination. “With the increasing number of accidents, the popularity of Thusharagiri as a tourist destination is only increasing, as if being dangerous is fascinating,” said Alex Thomas, president, Kodenchery grama panchayat.
“The authorities should have been strict with the tourists and not let them go close to the waterfalls, especially since there was a warning of heavy rain,” he said, adding that the Forest Protection Committee that manages the destination should deploy more personnel throughout the perimeter of the river upstream to watch out for flash floods.
