Ooty Founder's Birthday to be Celebrated as 'Ootacamund Day'

Udhagamandalam, Tamil Nadu: The 226th birth anniversary of John Sullivan, founder of the famous hill station of Udhagamandalam, better known as Ooty, will now be celebrated as 'Ootacamund day,' a top official of the Nilgiris Documentation centre said on Sunday.

"The credit for founding Ooty was given to John Sullivan, who was appointed Coimbatore Collector by British East Indian Company in 1817. As a mark of respect, it has been decided to celebrate June 15, his birthday as Ootacamund day," D Venugopal, Director of Nilgiris Documentation Centre said.

An announcement to this effect was made by him yesterday at a function in front of twin oak trees planted by Sullivan at Government Arts College.

Venugopal said one has to reflect that when Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are locked in disputes over sharing river waters, Ooty has been attracting more visitors from these states. The Nilgiri mountains have been donating most of its waters to the surrounding plains even while there is widespread water scarcity on the hills, he said.

This co-existence was the guiding spirit for declaring the day to be celebrated after Sullivan's birthday, Venugopal said.

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