By P.T. Bopanna
In the wake of alleged rape of an American tourist in Kodagu (Coorg), the Karnataka government has come out with rules to strengthen safety of guests in homestays.
Though the steps to improve safety of guests is welcome, the government has failed to announce the steps required to curb the menace posed by illegal homestays, mainly belonging to fly-by-night operators mostly from Kerala who run these homestays in rented buildings.
It is no secret that drug and prostitution racket thrive in these homestays and provide huge illegal revenue for the corrupt officials and elected representatives from local bodies.
In the circumstances, the government should announce a special task force (STF) at the state level to exclusively to deal with the menace posed by illegal homestays, whose number is estimated to be around 5,000, as against registered homestays numbering around 2,500, in Kodagu.
The STF should be led by a police official who has a good track record in curbing crime and anti-social activities.
The police officer who comes to my mind is Dr Suman D. Pennekar (in picture), a 2013 batch IPS officer who is presently working as Ballari SP.
Suman had worked as SP in Kodagu a few years ago. She had won the hearts of people in the hill district through hard work and fearless policing.
One of the major achievements of Suman was in dealing with the notorious timber smugglers. She led a team in arresting the alleged kingpin of the timber mafia Kallichanda Noban and seized timber worth Rs 1 crore after a raid on his house. She also clamped down on drug peddlers and solved major criminal cases.
Suman, an ayurvedic doctor from Belgaum district, played a critical role in the rescue and relief operations when Kodagu was hit by a major landslide in 2018. She led the team involved in rescuing stranded people in flood-affected areas in remote villages.
True to form, she admitted her daughter in an anganawadi, a government run Kannada medium institution. Explaining her decision, she was quoted as saying: “I want my child to have a normal schooling without any pressure and enjoy her childhood.”
The top priority of the state government should be to weed out illegal homestays which are bringing bad name to the homestay industry.