Kurinji walkathon held in Munnar

Munnar hill station, the hub of the Neelakurinji bloom, witnessed a Kurinji walkathon on Thursday, to commemorate G. Rajkumar, the renowned “Save Kurinji” crusader who passed away on January 15, 2026.

Organizing committee convenor M.J. Babu said the walkathon and accompanying seminar raised awareness about conserving the rare Neelakurinji and its fragile ecosystem. “The programme was conducted as a mark of respect for Rajkumar, who lived for Kurinji,” said Mr. Babu.

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, noting that if the Kurinji is to survive, the grasslands must be preserved.

Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Pramod G. Krishnan, who delivered a talk on Kurinji conservation, warned that the grasslands in Munnar are facing extinction.

“We cannot imagine Munnar without the Neelakurinji, the Muthuvan tribal community, and the Nilgiri tahr,” said Mr. Krishnan.

Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) Managing Director Raju K. Francis, Adivasi Muthuvan Samudaya Sangham president M. Palraj, Munnar Wildlife Warden K.V. Harikrishnan, and My Munnar Movement coordinator G. Sojan, among others, attended the seminar.

Meanwhile, as the commemoration took place, another Neelakurinji blooming season at Chokramudi—under the Forest Department—and at Korandakkad, within the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP) area, drew thousands of tourists to Munnar.

Naturalist and photographer Suresh Elamon noted that it was after the 1982 flowering season that the flower first gained recognition in the outside world. “During the 1982 season, Rajkumar, myself, and our group travelled to witness the bloom,” he said.

However, the Neelakurinji gained much broader public attention when photographs from the 1994 flowering season were featured in the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) calendar. “The 1995 calendar featured 12 Kurinji photographs across 12 months, which brought widespread popularity to the flower,” noted Mr. Elamon