The picturesque hill station of Ooty in Tamil Nadu, a perennial favourite among summer vacationers, has been forced to close its doors—at least temporarily. Following continuous heavy rainfall, the Nilgiris district administration immediately shut down all major tourist attractions in and around Ooty. The move comes in response to a red alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours.
As a precautionary measure, authorities have shut down the Ooty Botanical Garden, Rose Garden, Doddabetta Viewpoint, Pine Forest, the popular Shooting Spot, Pykara Waterfalls, and the Avalanche Eco-tourism Centre. Boathouses at Ooty Lake and Pykara Lake—typically bustling with tourists at this time of year—have also been closed until further notice.