The tunnels dug for water supply decades ago in Kasargod in Kerala have now become a center of attraction for tourists and tourists are experiencing thrills inside these tunnels cut in the mountains.
There are hundreds of small and big tunnels in the mountains in the villages of this district, from where the water coming is a source of water supply for the local villagers and he uses it in irrigation and other works besides drinking.
Dhanya T., associated with the Kasaragod branch of the ‘Responsible Tourism’ of Kerala Tourism Department, said that this district is famous for the historic Bekal Fort and its natural beauty and now in the last few years, ‘Tunnel Tourism’ is also attracting people towards itself.
He told that during the monsoon, especially people come to see the tunnels of Kasargod because during this time a good amount of water is coming out of the mountains from the tunnels.
Dhanya told that the water coming from the mountains is so pure that tourists also drink it and take it in the bottles. He said that after testing the water in the laboratory, it has been found “absolutely pure”.
Usually these tunnels are 50–100 meters long, but 59-year-old P. Jaikrishnan Nair’s-owned tunnel is about one kilometer long, which makes it extremely special.
Local farmer Jaikrishnan said that his grandfather Kelu Nair, along with his five relatives around 1935, started digging a tunnel to get water and collect it in the mountains. He told that the tunnel was not so long then but later his father Mullachary Narayanan Nair got it excavated and now its length is about one kilometer.
Jaikrishnan, who started a ‘tunnel tourism’ for tourists in the year 2016, said that his aim behind this is that people feel thrilling by looking at this structure of water supply as well as understand the importance of water and this system.
He said that the tourists coming here ask questions related to the history of the tunnel, on which the local people give them information about the methods of getting water according to their needs and collecting it.
Jaikrishnan said that security related instructions are given before tourists are taken inside the tunnel and LED lights have also been arranged for their ease.
‘Story Taylor’ (Kisago) associated with Kerala Tourism Department, Rajish Raghavan said that Beckle Resort Development Corporation (BRDC) is applying environmentally friendly tourism. He said that with its efforts, more than 50 ‘home stays’ have developed in Kasargod and Kannur districts.
Rajish said that to draw attention to ‘tunnel tourism’, BRDC had organized a national level program in Kasargod in 2018, which was attended by more than 250 delegates associated with the tourism industry.
