Homestays bane of 'Kashmir of the South'

Madikeri: Kodagu, the smallest district, in Karnataka, and known as 'Kashmir of the South' is a must visit destinations for tourists in South India. As it is the nearest hill station to Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, the number of tourist flow is increasing day by day.

Just two decades ago Kodagu was an epitome of scenic beauty, cleanliness and tranquility. But growing number of tourists and consequent mushrooming of homestays, has become bane of the pristine atmosphere of the hill station. A family can build extra rooms to provide accommodation and home-cooked food to visiting tourists who can have a taste of authentic cuisine and culture of the Kodagus at very cheaper expense.

In blatant violation of homestay norms, unscrupulous elements are exploiting the concept to the detriment of the natural beauty of Kodagu. There is also large-scale evasion of tax in the garb of homestays which entail families staying on the same premises and extending hospitality to tourists. But the very idea of homestay has suffered a huge dent as more than 90 percent of these facilities are being run in separate buildings and owners choose to stay somewhere else, erasing the line between lodges/hotels and homestays.

According to sources in the district administration, there are 670 licenced homestays and 2,000 unauthorised ones in the district.

According to norms, no homestay can be run in rented building; installation of CC cameras is mandatory. In some cases, homestays are leased to third parties.

On Sunday, a woman tourist from Mumbai died of asphyxiation caused by LPG gas geyser. During investigation, it came to light that the owner who lives abroad has leased the homestay.

Tourists who come here in the hope of enjoying the local culture are disappointed as they end up paying exorbitant charges for stay without getting homely food.

In a disturbing trend, homestays are becoming venues for rave parties. The police raided two homestays last year and booked the owner and participants in the rave party. Unauthorised homestays can also become haven for anti-social elements as no register of the visitors is maintained.

Speaking to The Hans India on Wednesday, Coorg Homestay Association president B G Ananthashayana said that they have already urged authorities to close the unauthorized home stays, but to no avail.

Every year over 18 lakh tourists visit the district which has a population of 6 lakh. The mushrooming hospitality facilities provide job opportunity to thousands of people and bring prosperity to the owners. But on the flip side, the booming tourism is taking a heavy toll on peaceful life of the people and environment. Landslides have become common in the past three years and they are blamed on unscientific construction of homestays on hillocks.

Speaking to The Hans India, Kodava Samaja Youth wing president Chammatira Pravin Uthappa said that increased tourism activity has done much damage to the district the proof of which was the havoc wreaked by Covid. He said the State government should restrict entry of tourists by issuing online pass.