It was on February 19 this year that the eco-tourism centres under the control of the Wayanad Forest Department were closed all at once. Since then, many spots like Kuruva Island, Tholpetty Wildlife Sanctuary, Brahmagiri Trekking Centre, Soochipara Falls, Meenmutty Falls, Chembra Peak, Muneeswaran Kunnu, and Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary remain closed. All these were major tourism centres of Wayanad and travellers of all kinds loved their vibe.
There are very few tourism centres under the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) and other agencies that are functioning at present and even after five months, there has been no action to reopen them. The government is yet to decide on the matter, as it is currently sub judice. Why the closure? All the eco-tourism centres were closed all of a sudden after Paul, an employee of the Forest Protection Committee, was killed by a wild elephant at Pakkam in Mananthavady.
Eco tourism centres are usually closed for one or two months during the hot summer to prevent forest fires but they are reopened once the monsoon begins. After the wildlife attacks escalated, nature conservationists approached the High Court and filed a petition to close down the eco-tourism centres and the court passed an order stating that the eco-tourism centres should be re-opened only on the directive of the court. According to South Wayanad Divisional Forest Officer Ajit K.
Raman, the Forest Department has filed an affidavit in court advocating for the reopening of .