Coimbatore DFO N. Satish told The Covai Post about plans to further develop ecotourism in Kovai Kutralam, including the resort which accommodates visitors for a charge of Rs 2,000 for a single day. He says, “The resort earlier had fooding and lodging but the food factor did not meet with success like at Berlekad near Mettupalayam in spite of two repeated attempts. This forced us to discontinue the service.”

Plans were afoot to tie up with some catering units to restart the services of providing meals for visitors staying at the resort. Satish said a move was on to start an elephant safari using kumki elephants. This could be whenever the kumkis, used to chase away wild elephants, are free, provided permission was received from authorities concerned.

Officials were identifying sites for further improving the area with plans to add a few more adventures or swings to the already existing ones and the proposal was likely to be finalised in a month or two. The site is normally closed on Mondays for visitors owing to maintenance works.