A forester has been suspended for allegedly issuing fake tickets to tourists visiting Kovai Kutralam and indulging in irregularities to the tune of Rs 35 lakh.
Coimbatore: Kovai Kutralam Falls, a scenic picnic spot, is located in the Sadivayal- Poluvampatti forest range next to Alanthurai.
It is one of the major tourist attractions to those visiting Coimbatore and the falls is visited by tourists not only from Tamil Nadu but also from neighbouring states like Kerala and Karnataka.
Tourists flock to this scenic spot on weekends and festival days and an entry fee of Rs 60 for adults, Rs 30 for children are collected from the visitors.
The forest department is also charging Rs 20 and Rs 50 towards parking fee.
Recently, It has come to light that a forest ranger has indulged in irregularities by engaging two machines to issue tickets and swindled the money collected through the second ticket vending machine, which amounted to Rs.35 lakhs.
In the last six months, it has been established that several lakhs of rupees have been misappropriated in this manner and a previous Forest Ranger was also involved in the scam.
Investigations, revealed that Rajesh Kumar, who works as a forester in Poluvampatti forest range, had indulged in the irregularities and it has been going on since 2021, with the help of Forest ranger Saravanan, who had worked with him earlier.
District Forest Officer Ashok Kumar has placed Rajesh Kumar, who was involved in the fraud under suspension and Rs.35 lakhs seized from him by him.
Further departmental investigations are on.