Madikeri: Illegal Home-stays in and around Kodagu region which are mushrooming day by day are turning in nuisance in ways more than one. Several such home-stays have defied government rules and have been functioning without registration.
Home-stays were started by the distressed coffee growers years ago, when mere coffee crops could not bring in the financial support needed to sustain the sprawling coffee estates and other costs. Those days people were only keen on visiting beaches rather than going on holidays to hilly terrains. But, with Tsunami hitting the Chennai coast, a sense fear gripped the people, who soon started scouting out safer areas and for obvious reasons, Kodagu district became the hot favourite.
With the number of tourists increasing, some people started home-stays as business and now there are over 571 registered home-stays. But several home-stays run illegally. Even after district administration made it mandatory to get it registered following incidents of illegal activities, several home-stays are existing without registration.
Most of the home-stays are run by local Kodavas, but many more are run by outsiders who take property on rental basis. Most of these are illegal ventures. Several people have opposed such home-stays because they have turned into den of illegal activities. Even the tourists who stay there have complained of poor facilities.
The department of tourism and district administration must immediately act on the same to stop these illegal home-stays in the region, say the locals.
