In the spotlight, for wrong reasons

Kuntala, Bogatha Falls

​Kuntala/Bogatha: Despite their captivating beauty, Kuntala and Bogatha waterfalls, the two ecstatic locations in Telangana that have a massive tourism potential, didn’t get as much attention as one would have desired. Devoid of high-decibel urban rumblings and nestled in the lap of lush green settings, both the locations are nothing but a visual splendour to the nature lovers.

Kuntala waterfalls, 90 kms south of district headquarters Adilabad, dotted the tourism map when the Tourism Department constructed steps to reach the foot of the fall in 2005. However, trekking down and scaling up 408 steps is a trying experience, the view of waters gushing through rocks from a height of 45 meters leaves an indelible mark on every visitor.

On the other hand, picturesque Bogatha waterfalls in Wajedu mandal of Bhupalpally district, 275 kms from Hyderabad, took some time to shot into fame. Albeit water cascades down from a modest height, Bogatha waterfalls that emerge in the course of Cheekupally stream has become a hotspot, mesmerising the tourists with its charm, tranquillity and lush green forest settings.

Before a high-level bridge across the Godavari river between Mullakatta and Pusuru (NH-163) has become accessible, visiting Bogatha was a herculean task as it needed much of a detour - via Bhadrachalam crisscrossing the thickets abutting Chhattisgarh. Ever since the high-level bridge truncated the distance by more than 200 kms for those visiting from Hyderabad and Warangal, the footfall of the visitors started to swell.

As a result, Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC) has planned to develop ‘Tribal Eco-Tourism Circuit’ connecting seven other locations spread across erstwhile Warangal district with the financial assistance from the Central government. Since then, only a kutcha road was laid and nothing more than that.

Though Kuntala and Bogatha have been attracting visitors in large numbers, both have remained as picnic spots rather than getting developed into tourism spots due to the lackadaisical approach of the government. Adding more woes to this, both the waterfalls have become death traps for the visitors. Since Bogatha came into limelight, there were at least 10 drowning incidents.

According to police, around 104 visitors washed away in the gushing waters of Kuntala since the start of the new millennium. Notably in majority of cases, the victims were invariably inebriated, the forest officials say.

“With no security personnel guarding, the waterfalls has become hotspot for the revelry thus leading to drowning incidents,” Somanna, temple site guide, said.Speaking to The Hans India, Bhupalpally Superintendent of Police R Bhaskaran said: “On enforcement side, we are taking utmost care to keep a tab on the availability of liquor in the region.

In coordination with forest and revenue departments, we have formulated a plan to avert accidents of drowning. A plan is on the anvil to install barricades at the falls for the safety of visitors.”