The Meenmutty waterfalls, the second largest in the State, is vanishing from the tourism map.
The falls is nestled in the greenery of the Mepadi forest range, under the South Wayanad forest division, at Chitragiri on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. It was a major attraction, especially for adventure-seekers, till two years ago.
Three years ago, the Forest Department had set up a permanent ticket counter and constituted a forest protection committee to manage the day-to-day affairs of the destination.
The Additional District Magistrate (ADM) directed the department to close the destination in 2012 owing to protests by a section of the residents.
The water falls in three levels, from a height of 984 ft. The view is breathtaking and the flow attains fierce strength during monsoon. There is a good flow for nearly eight months, people of the area say.
Adventure-seekers used to do a two-km trek through the forest. The entry point was on the Kozhikode-Ooty interstate highway.
Earlier, the falls was visible in toto from the Neelimala viewpoint, near Chitragiri. This spot was closed by the department due to security reasons.
The department had asked the district administration to take steps to allow visitors to the site. No steps have been taken yet, Forest sources say.
The Neelimala viewpoint is a ‘prohibited area’ and the government is yet to take any action to promote it as a tourism destination, they say.
