Munnar walkathon honours Kurinji conservation campaigner

A walkathon and seminar were held in Munnar on Thursday to commemorate G. Rajkumar, a campaigner known for efforts to protect the Neelakurinji. Mr.

Rajkumar died on January 15, 2026. The programme’s convenor, M.J. Babu, said the events were intended to raise awareness about conserving the rare flower and its fragile ecosystem.

He described the programme as a mark of respect for Mr. Rajkumar, who had devoted himself to the Kurinji. Devikulam Sub-Collector V.M.

Arya flagged off the walkathon from the old railway station. Idukki District Collector Dineshan Cheruvatt delivered a commemoration lecture online. Mr.

Cheruvatt said the grasslands had to be preserved if the Kurinji was to survive. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Pramod G. Krishnan also addressed the seminar and warned that Munnar’s grasslands were facing extinction.

Mr. Krishnan said Munnar’s identity was closely connected with the Neelakurinji, the Muthuvan tribal community and the Nilgiri tahr. Representatives of the Kerala Forest Development Corporation, the Adivasi Muthuvan Samudaya Sangham, the Forest Department and local groups attended the seminar.

The commemoration coincided with a Neelakurinji blooming season at Chokramudi, under the Forest Department, and Korandakkad, in the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations area. The blooms attracted thousands of tourists to Munnar. Naturalist and photographer Suresh Elamon recalled that the flower gained wider recognition after the 1982 flowering season.

He said photographs from the 1994 season later appeared in the State Bank of Travancore’s calendar. The 1995 calendar featured 12 Kurinji photographs across its 12 months, Mr. Elamon said, helping bring broader public attention to the flower.

The event’s speakers linked that public interest with the need to protect the habitat on which the seasonal bloom depends.