Social distancing thrown to the wind: Risks of COVID infections galore Aliyar due to large crowds at Aliyar Dam
Coimbatore: At the Aliyar Dam near Pollachi, people keep gathering in large numbers due to the holiday today, but almost all of them throw social distancing to the winds thereby giving room for COVID infections.
Areas around Pollachi are dotted with some of the most sought after tourist destinations in Coimbatore District including the places such as Aliyar, Monkey Falls, Valparai and Topslip. Aliyar and Monkey Falls in particular draw a lot of crowds during general and festival holidays.
All the tourist spots where closed in TN due to the COVID curfew. Under the circumstances, as part of unlock measures, the government announced a few relaxations that included reopening of tourist spots following which visitors are allowed to Aliyar and Valparai.
All tourist bans were closed due to the first curfew last March. In this case, the government allowed the opening of the first tourist sites in September after the curfew was relaxed. Following this, tourists are allowed to visit areas including Aliyar and Valparai. However, they are not allowed to visit the dam, the adjoining park and the Monkey Falls due to security reasons.
Under the circumstances, the tourists who have gathered in Aliyar on the day of holiday today roam around without wearing face masks and observing social distancing. space. In areas including the Aliyar Checkdam, a Dam, a large number of people are seen bathing with no concern for social distancing whatsoever.
As this negligent attitude of the public could increase the incidence of COVID, social activists have demanded that the District Administration and the Police impose come down heavily on the violators and impose fines on them in order to prevent and control the spread COVID infections.