Pachamalai, butterfly park to open in Jan
The community-based ecotourism development project in Pachamalai hills would be opened to public with the arrival of the Pongal season as much of the work has been completed.. The officials expect the work to get over in December, and are planning to open the much-awaited tourist spot in January 2015. The hills, which are situated approximately 80km north of the district, lie 800m above sea level. The temperature varies through the year, with the maximum temperature touching 27 degree Celsius. The project is being developed at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore.
District forest officer (DFO) N Satheesh told TOI that infrastructure works at the Koraiyaru and Periyapakkalam waterfalls have been completed and the construction of dormitories have entered their final phase. The hills are spread over Trichy, Perambalur and Salem districts, and several people who use the roads are waiting to catch a glimpse of the hills, a forest ranger said. Works were held up due to draught or legal wrangles but begun again after the decks were cleared. The project is making progress now, he said.
The work on the butterfly park, which was originally scheduled to open in March 2014, was stalled due to several reasons. The park is finally set to be opened to public during the festival season. Built at a total cost of Rs 8.67 crore over a 25 hectare area, the park will rear at least 40 local species of butterflies. According to N Satheesh, only local species used to be reared in butterfly parks earlier, and rearing rare breeds required special permission from the central zoo authority as it falls under the Wildlife Act. However, with the installment of special facilities like air-conditioned indoor conservatories, rare species can also be raised in the parks, he said.
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