Floral blooms at the Kas plateau have dropped by nearly 50% in the absence of returning monsoon rains, prompting the forest department to halt online bookings even as thousands continue to arrive through offline bookings.
Floral blooms at the Kas plateau have dropped by nearly 50% in the absence of returning monsoon rains, prompting the forest department to halt online bookings even as thousands continue to arrive through offline bookings. “When we visited Kas on Oct 2, the tourist count was more than the actual wildflowers. The returning monsoon, crucial for sustaining the bloom, has also stayed away since Sept 23. The result has been a nearly 50% drop in flowering. The flower festival just started on Sept 1, but forest department has already stopped online bookings, cutting them off well before the scheduled Oct 15 finish. On Oct 2 alone, more than 2,700 visitors with pre-booked online tickets reached Kas. Another 2,500 arrived through offline bookings. There were more queues at Gate 3 for electric vehicles to Kumudini lake and for buses on the return journey. The floral bloom over the plateau currently is 50% of normal and will remain till Oct 15,” he said. Spread across 1,800 acres, Kas is home to more than 450 flowering plant species, including 39 endemic species found only on the plateau. More than 160 volunteers keep watch on visitors across the plateau.
“The meteorological department had predicted that rainfall would be less this year due to El Nino. “As a result, the fertile environment required for the flowering plants on the plateau was not available. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
There is very little bloom on the plateau,” said Pune tourist Vineet Parekh. “We came from a long distance to see flowers, but were able to see only eight to 10 flower species,” said Pavitra Joshi, a tourist from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Tourist guide Santosh Atre said the flowers had put on a good show until late Sept. “This year, the floral bloom was good till Sept 25, but there have been no showers since, and due to bright sunny days, the flowers drastically reduced by the end of Sept,” Atre said. “The flowering depends on nature’s cycle and every step to conserve this natural beauty is necessary,” he said. Range forest officer Sandeep Jopale said Kas had not received its usual rainfall this year. The Kas plateau did not receive the usual rainfall this year,” Jopale said.
Kolhapur: Visitors came with the expectation of enjoying Kas’s famed carpet of pink, yellow, purple and blue. In reality, many found long queues, scorching sun, fading blooms and scattered patches of flowers. The disappointment follows an unusually poor flowering season at Kas. The plateau received inadequate and erratic rain this year. Bright, sunny days made matters worse. Offline bookings, however, continue. Yet, thousands are still heading to the Unesco World Natural Heritage Site with hopes of catching its fleeting floral spectacle. The crowds meant queues at almost every step. Visitors waited for buses at the parking lot and again at the offline ticket counter. For many, the flowers waiting at the end did not match their expectations. “One has to walk far to get a glimpse of small yellow patches. Pink flowers have almost completely vanished,” Joshi added. She also sought shelters on the plateau to give visitors respite from the scorching sun. At its peak, Kas transforms every few weeks. Yellow gives way to pink, purple, white, mauve and blue. Mist rolls over the hills as flowers carpet its green meadows. This year, that spectacle has faded early. The Kas Plateau Executive Committee, comprising representatives of six villages, works with the Satara forest department to protect the fragile ecosystem. Download the TOI App.
