Going to visit Hundru Falls in Angara block on Ranchi outskirts? Be sure to pack your lunch or eat on the way.
For, the lone restaurant at the ground floor of Hundru Vihar, the guesthouse run by Jharkhand Tourism Development Corporation (JTDC) near the waterfall, does not have a cook.
One can't stay overnight at the guesthouse too. Refurbished two years ago, Hundru Vihar has 10 rooms on its first floor but its staff say the only reason they can't allot rooms to guests is lack of beds.
Also, if power trips, supply doesn't come for four to five days at a stretch, which leads to water problems.
Not exactly a comfortable getaway nest that this picturesque spot needs and deserves. At a time when the state government is banking on tourism as one of the key economic drivers of Jharkhand and department officials travel to national and international tourism fairs to highlight the state's scenic beauties, such sustained negligence and apathy back home may mar all good intentions.
On Monday, Samarjeet Chatterjee, an official posted at the Union ministry of finance in Delhi, who was in Ranchi for a two-day break to meet his cousin, got a taste of the problems.
"I had heard a lot about Hundru falls from my relatives, so we decided to spend some time there. Around noon, when we headed to the restaurant feeling hungry, we were told that they don't have a cook. It's such a beautiful place but simple problems like these may turn away tourists," he said.
Another regular to this waterfall, teacher and Morabadi resident Saket Singh said he had often wanted to spend a night at Hundru with his family but couldn't.
"We have demanded beds many times but JTDC is yet to take note," said Balsar Bedia, one of the staffers employed at Hundru Vihar on a daily wage basis. Bedia gets Rs 241 per day.
On the lack of cooks, Bedia said around three months ago, a cook who didn't get paid for three months at Hundru Vihar, left. "Though his money has been cleared now, he doesn't want to come back." Right now, 16 staffers are engaged to work at Hundru Vihar.
Another staffer Haricharan Bedia pointed out proper security was lacking for night stay. "All windows have glass panes. Ideally, there should be grilles," he said.
Electricity is also a grave problem, he said. "At times, when power trips, it doesn't come for four to five days at a stretch. Since we don't have generators, water becomes a problem in such cases due to which we have to shut this place. But the beauty of Hundru waterfalls is such that on an average 20-25 vehicles, cars or mini buses, come with visitors. On weekend, the numbers are more than double."
Contacted, JTDC managing director Waghmare Prasad Krishna, who is also the director of state tourism department, said they were considering to outsource Hundru Vihar along with few other guesthouses soon. But, he added he couldn't say more on this issue as he was on leave and asked this reporter to speak to JTDC general manager Rajiv Ranjan for more information. Ranjan's phone was switched off.
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