Head to Sandur to see a flower that blooms once in 12 years

You may think Ballari is all about high day temperatures and humidity. But head towards Sandur in September, and you will be proved wrong. The cool environs of Sandur, an erstwhile princely State in the district, now abounds with nature’s beauty, with the hill ranges covered with greenery. To top it all, is the beautiful landscape laced with the Neela Kurinji (Strobilenthes Kunthianus), which blooms only once in 12 years. Patches of purplish blue flowers have decked the Swami Malai and Ramana Malai hill ranges of Sandur taluk and have been attracting nature lovers and botanists. The presence of Neela Kurinji, a shrub found in the Shola forests of the Western Ghats in south India, goes to show the rich treasure of biodiversity in Sandur forests. Sandur is in a valley within a valley, filled often by thick clouds and mist. The hill ranges, which would be dry with withered grass and other shrubs between January and June, turn green after the monsoon. “I thought I was in Ooty or Kodaikanal on seeing the pleasant atmosphere in Sandur. I had the feel of the clouds, the cool breeze and was wonderstruck to see these beautiful flowers here,” Nirmala S., principal, Bhagirathi PU College for Women, Kottur, said. Members of Creative Ladies Club of Kottur, who had come all the way to have a glimpse of the flowers, were awestruck on seeing them and also the valleys and the landscape. However, concerns remain over the future of these once-in-12-years flowers in Sandur. Since the last time it bloomed here, iron ore mining exploded leading to ravaged hills and forests. The Supreme Court stepped in, and after a bevy of cases that perhaps even lead to the falling of a government, mining came to a grinding halt. Now, after companies prepare for the resumption of mining in most areas, residents and activists wonder what the next 12 years holds for the ecologically-sensitive area. Will we see the Neela Kurinji again? Source: The Hindu