Adilabad waterfalls: A tourism goldmine that could generate employment for Adivasi youth

It is certainly an oddity that local Adivasis find themselves bereft of the satisfaction and joy that outsiders derive when visiting the fabulous waterfalls of the erstwhile united Adilabad district.

The promise of developing at least some of the plethora of such natural wonders as places of tourist interest has yet to be fulfilled which in turn is delaying possible efforts to provide gainful employment to the native youngsters.

A look at the scenario, however, suggests that the government can go ahead with providing a little assistance to enthusiastic local youth at given places to earn some income while working as guides to visiting nature lovers. The situation for creating employment for the unemployed looks especially bright at the Saptagundam waterfalls, seven marvels on the same stream in Lingapur Mandal, and the Gundala waterfall cluster in Tiryani Mandal, both in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.

These two places offer a ready-made situation with some youngsters already offering their services as local guides cooking ethnic food and doubling up as porters, but sadly their receipts are at best a pittance. These youths need a little push to add some value to their service so that they can look forward to earning a decent income for their efforts.

Closer observation will reveal another important factor that makes it imperative that there is some handholding done in the gamut. The opportunity to work as guides keeps them rooted in their environs, a characteristic exhibited by all ethnic people.

"If only we had a few camping tents," pondered Madavi Prem Kumar, a local from Pittaguda village who often functions as a guide for visitors to Saptagundam waterfalls. He leads a group of 6 or 7 youths from his village who work as guides taking visitors around the place through the difficult terrain charging a mere Rs. 1,500.

Prem Kumar is a victim of the COVID-19 pandemic which forced him to drop out of B.Tech. Having nothing better to do during the period, he and his friends often visited the Mitte and the other six waterfalls discovering the place.

His social media posts featuring the wonderful waterbodies soon earned him accolades and his knowledge of the place gave him the idea of becoming a guide. Subsequently, he opened a Google business account which featured his phone number giving him an identity as a local guide which eventually got him to work.

"Many visitors want to spend more time in nature but we find ourselves helpless in organizing a night stay for them. A few camping tents would be of great help in this regard," he affirmed.

Another group of aboriginal youth from Gundala village often end up 'volunteering' as guides just out of their love for nature. This group has Marsukola Ashok as its leader and who is more inclined toward becoming a full-time guide until he hopefully lands a job in teaching given his educational qualification of MA, D.Ed.

"The access to the fascinating waterfalls including Gundala, the two Checheras near Mangi, and the Chintala Madara is through dense forest and difficult hillocks. Without a guide no visitor can afford to enjoy the waterfalls fully," he observed which necessitates some sort of intervention in helping out the local youth to turn the opportunity into gainful employment.

There is a lot of interest generated among researchers and others of the ilk in the forest of Tiryani Mandal. The youths in question can work as guides owing to their excellent knowledge of the terrain.

"These places should grow as places of tourism interest and the freelancing aboriginal boys should simultaneously grow as part of it," opined Arugula Vikas, a techie visitor from Hyderabad. "We liked the way they safely took us around this difficult place," he added as he talked about the service provided by the Pittaguda group.