By P.T. Bopanna
The alleged rape of an American tourist has exposed the rotten underbelly of the Coorg homestay industry. I happen to know the family which runs the homestay.
Devi Villa is a registered homestay run by a ‘respected’ Kodava family and located near Kutta town in Kodagu, bordering Kerala. The alleged rape was committed by a ‘trusted’ cook from Jharkhand, who drugged the American woman through a beverage served to her before committing the heinous act.
The family is personally known to me and they have a good reputation. In fact, the head of the family who passed away a few years ago, was a well-known environmentalist.
The son who runs the homestay now, should have reported the matter to the police, instead of trying to hush up the matter. There cannot be any excuses and the owner should face the consequences of not reporting the matter.
While Coorg district in Karnataka has emerged as ‘India’s homestay capital’, there is a seamier side to the story. It is believed there are more illegal homestays than registered ones. Illegal homestays run with the tacit support of the police and local authorities.
While the owner of a registered homestay is supposed to live in the premises, this is seldom the case as it is outsourced to a caretaker. This came to the fore last year when a caretaker harassed two women guests by banging on their doors in the wee hours. Since they refused to open the door, the caretaker allegedly punctured the car tyres of the guests.
Anita Bhaskar, deputy director of the department of tourism, Kodagu, went on record last year to say there are 3,500 homestays in Kodagu district, of which only 2,269 have got registered so far.
When the officials are aware of the unregistered homestays, why no action has been taken against them. It is no secret that illegal homestays have the patronage of the official machinery and some of them are engaged in prostitution, gambling and rave parties.
The population of Kodagu is 5,54,519. In 2024, Kodagu attracted a record 45.72 lakh tourists. Already signboards have come up across Kodagu saying “tourists are not welcome”.
It is time people of Kodagu protested against ‘over-tourism’ on the lines of protests across southern European cities last year.
Thousands of protesters marched across southern European cities in a coordinated protest against over-tourism, saying it is driving up housing costs and pushing out local residents.
Over the years, it has become a routine exercise for the Kodagu DCs and SPs to declare that the district administration will crack down on illegal homestays. But this seldom happens because homestays are a cash cow for officials and elected representatives at the lower level.
I feel the time is ripe to clean up the rot and close down the illegal homestays.
It is very sad to see that many prestigious resorts in Coorg are employing mostly people from outside the region, while local candidates are being overlooked. I believe the Coorg MLA and Panchayat should consider introducing guidelines to ensure that at least 40% of jobs are offered to qualified local residents.
There are many five-star properties in the area, yet they do not seem to be providing fair opportunities to locals. As a hospitality professional with over 20 years of experience, I personally applied for a vacant position, but I was told that there were no openings at the time. However, through a friend who works at one of these properties, I learned that they are actively hiring but prefer candidates from states like Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal instead of local talent.
This situation is concerning and needs serious attention. Qualified local professionals deserve equal opportunities to work in their own region. I request the concerned authorities to look into this matter and take appropriate steps to ensure fair hiring practices.
Thank you.