Tourists wary of K'taka, post-Cauvery Tribunal award

Mysore, Feb 9 (UNI) The continuing protests and the uneasy calm prevailing in the Cauvery basin districts of Karnataka in the wake of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal pronouncing its final award have taken a toll on the tourism industry in the region, besides eating into the revenue of public transport corporation KSRTC.

The City of Palaces, which witnessed heavy tourist inflow in the last few years, has been left wanting for the patronage of tourists since February five when the Tribunal came out with the award, regarded by the local farmers and politicians as being favourable to the lower riparian State of Tamil Nadu.

With the Mysore-Bangalore State highway blocked and the memory of the 1991 riots following the interim award etched clearly in the minds of the people, fear-stricken tourists from the neighbouring States and others were shying away from visiting the city. Almost all the tourist spots wore a deserted look in and around Mysore.

Hotels, which get filled up in advance till recently, especially during the weekends, have reported a meagre ten per cent occupancy, a fact that vouched for the scales tilting against the favour of the tourism industry.

The world famous Mysore Palace, which normally witnessed serpentine queues of tourists, reported less than a thousand visitors this week. Nearly 10,000 tourists generally flock to the palace daily and even during off-season, the number did not go below 5,000. The gate collection at the premier attraction in the city had come down drastically this week in several years, an official at the palace told UNI