Kerala Tourism has directed district tourism promotion councils (DTPCs) to restrict access to waterfalls, reservoirs and other tourist sites linked to water bodies in districts under orange alert, as well as neighbouring districts experiencing spreading rainfall. The safety curbs follow rain warnings issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and will remain in force until the warnings are withdrawn.
The instructions cover tourist destinations where rising water levels, strong flows and changing weather conditions can increase risks to visitors. DTPCs have also been told to maintain restrictions in hilly regions prone to landslides and mudslides until rainfall subsides.
Safety signboards must be installed at landslide-prone points on roads leading to vulnerable tourist areas. The department has directed the councils to enforce necessary travel restrictions on routes where ground conditions and continuing rain could pose a danger to visitors.
The advisory places responsibility on local tourism bodies to ensure that visitors are informed about the weather warnings and restrictions. Tourists arriving in Kerala from other states and countries should be given information about the alerts, the department said, with emergency contact numbers circulated widely so visitors know whom to contact if they are involved in an accident or become stranded.
DTPCs have also been instructed to operate dedicated control rooms around the clock until the warning period ends. These control rooms are expected to coordinate information relating to restrictions and visitor safety during the alert period.
Information about restrictions at tourist destinations must be publicised through media and social media platforms, according to the directions. Notifications about the curbs are also to be shared with the control rooms of the police, disaster management authorities and fire and rescue services.
The instructions create a coordinated response involving tourism authorities, police, disaster management agencies and emergency services rather than leaving safety decisions to individual destinations. Their implementation will depend on local councils identifying vulnerable sites, communicating closures or access limits and keeping the restrictions in place for as long as the IMD warnings and hazardous conditions continue.
The department’s directions remain linked to the duration of the weather threat: restrictions at water-related tourist sites are to continue until the warnings are withdrawn, while curbs in landslide- and mudslide-prone hills should remain until rain subsides in those areas.
